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CCPyRIGHT DEPOSfR 



The Tragic Story 

- Of The - 

Empress of Ireland 

An Authentic Account of the Most 
Horrible Disaster in Canadian His- 
tory, Constructed from the Real 
Facts Obtained from Those on 
Board Who Survived 

And Other Great Sea Disasters 

BY 

LOGAN MARSHALL 

Author of "The Story of Polar Conquest," "The 
Story of the Panama Canal," Etc. 



Containing the Statements of 

CAPTAIN HENRY GEORGE KENDALL 
Commanding the Empress of Ireland 

^And 

CAPTAIN THOMAS ANDERSEN 
Commanding the Storstad 

ILLUSTRATED 
With Numerous Authentic Photogr^hs and Drawings 



G|4'^'° 



Copyright, 1914, bv 
L. T. MYERS 



JUL-7)9J4 

©C1,A376570 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Introduction 9 

I. The Empress of Ireland Sails to Her 

Doom 13 

II. Captain Kendall Blames the Storstad.. 29 

III. Captain Andersen's Defense 33 

IV. Miraculous Escape of the Few 37 

V. The Stricken Survivors Return 44 

VI. Heroes of the Empress Disaster 64 

VII. The Surgeon's Thrilling Story 71 

VIII. Ship of Death Reaches Quebec 74 

IX. Solemn Services for the Dead 83 

X. Crippling Loss to the Salvation Army. . . 92 

XI. Notable Passengers Aboard 110 

XII. List of Survivors and Roll of the Dead 118 

XIII. The Storstad Reaches Port 125 

XIV. Parliament Shocked by the Calamitv. . . 132 
XV. Messages of Sympathy and Help 134 

XVI. Placing the Blame %: 140 

XVII. Empress in Fact, as in Name 156 

(5) 



6 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XVIII. The Norwegian Collier Storstad 161 

XIX. The St. Lawrence : A Beautiful River 163 

XX. The Tragic Story of the Titanic Dis- 
aster 175 

XXI. The Most Sumptuous Palace Afloat 178 

XXII. The Titanic Strikes an Iceberg 186 

XXIII. "Women and Children First" 197 

XXIV. Left to Their Fate 221 

XXV. The Call for Help Heard 231 

XXVI. In the Drifting Life-Boats 235 

XXVII. The Tragic Home-Coming 254 

XXVIII. Other Great Marine Disasters 284 

XXIX. Development of Shipbuilding 292 

XXX. Safety and Life-Saving Devices 300 

XXXI. Seeking Safety at Sea 307 



FACTS ABOUT THE WRECK OF THE EMPRESS OF 

IRELAND 



X^TUMBER of persons aboard, 1,475. 
•^ ^ Number of persons saved, 397. 
Number of persons dead, 1,078. 

Total nimaber of first-class passengers, 87. 

Total nimiber of second-class passengers, 256. 

Total number of third-class passengers, 717. 

Total number of crew, 415. 

The Salvation Army Delegation nxmibered 150; of these 124 
were lost. 

The Empress of Ireland was a twin-screw vessel of 14,500 tons. 

The vessel was built in Glasgow in 1906 by the Fairfield Com- 
pany, Ltd., and was owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway. 

The Storstad is a single-screw vessel, registering 6,028 tons. 

The vessel was built by the Armstrong, Whitworth Company at 
Newcastle in 1911, and is owned by the Dampsk Aktieselk 
Maritime of Christiania, Norway. 




CANADA MOURNS 



INTRODUCTION 

^^r j AHOSE who go down to the sea in ships" was once 
I a synonym for those who gambled with death and 
put their Hves upon the hazard. Today the mor- 
tahty at sea is less than on common carriers on land. But 
the futility of absolute prevention of accident is emphasized 
again and again. The regulation of safety makes catastrophes 
like that of the Empress of Ireland all the more tragic and 
terrible. A blow, a ripping, the side taken out of a ship, 
darkness, the inrush of waters, a panic, and then in the hush 
the silent corpses drifting by. 

So with the Canadian liner. She has gone to her grave 
leaving a trail of sorrow behind her. Hundreds of human 
hearts and homes are in mourning for the loss of dear com- 
panions and friends. The universal sympathy which is 
written in every face and heard in every voice proves that 
man is more than the beasts that perish. It is an evidence 
of the divine in humanity. Why should we care? There is 
no reason in the world, unless there is something in us that 
is different from lime and carbon and phosphorus, something 
that makes us mortals able to suffer together — 

''For we have all of us an human heart." 

(9) 



10 INTRODUCTION 

The collision which sent the Empress of Ireland to the 
bottom of the St. Lawrence with hundreds of passengers in 
their berths produced a shudder throughout the civilized 
world. And the effect on the spirits of the millions who 
received the shock will not soon pass off. The Titanic tragedy- 
sat heavy on the minds of the people of this generation for 
months after it happened. 

^ V There is hardly any one in touch with world affairs who will 
not feel himself drawn into the circle of mourners over such a 
disaster. From every center of great calamity waves of 
sympathetic sorrow spread to far-distant strangers, but the 
perishing of great numbers in a shipwreck seems to impress 
our human nature more profoundly than do accidents or 
visitations of other kinds in which the toll of death is as 
great. Our concern for those in danger seems to turn espe- 
cially to those in peril on the sea. 

Science has wrought miracles for the greater protection of 
those afloat. Wireless telegraphy, air-tight compartments, 
the construction which has produced what is called "the 
unsinkable ship," have added greatly to the safety of ocean 
travel. But science cannot eliminate the element of error. 
None of the aids that the workers for safe transit have 
bestowed on navigation could avail to prevent what hap- 
pened in the early hours of May 29, 1914. The Empress 
of Ireland was rammed by another vessel, and so crushed as 
to be unable to remain afloat for more than fifteen minutes 
after the impact. 

Overwhelmed by the catastrophe we fall back upon that 



INTRODUCTION 11 

faith in the Unseen Power which is never shaken by the appear- 
ance of what seems to be unnecessary evil or inexplicable 
cruelty. Trust in God involves the belief that behind the 
stupendous processes of natural life there is a divine wisdom 
so deeply grounded upon reality that no human mind can 
comprehend its precepts and a divine love so boundless in its 
compassion that no human heart can measure its scope. We 
concede the knowledge of the divine mind to be "too wonder- 
ful" for our understanding. "It is high: I cannot attain unto 
it." 

Therefore we are prepared for the awful, the mysterious, and 
even the terrible. Nothing in the universal process can dis- 
turb or confound us. If a thing appears to be evil it is wisdom 
which is at fault. If an event seems to be cruel it is our love 
which is blind. We look upon the chances and changes of 
human experience even as we gaze at night upon the move- 
ments of the heavenly spheres; we would as little think of 
questioning the beneficence of the one as of the other. 

Come sorrow or joy, failure or success, death or life — it is 
all the same. We trust God, and therefore we trust life, which 
is simply the thing that God is doing. "Though he slay me, 
yet wiU I trust in him!" Yea, it is only when God seems to 
slay us that we can trust in Him, for trust begins only when 
knowledge fails; just as the stars shine only when the sun is 
gone! 




HE rS THE PILOT IN A FOG 



CHAPTER I 

The Empress of Ireland Sails to Her Doom 

another toll of the sea — the empress sails from que- 
bec — the holiday humor of the passengers — captain 
kendall warned of fogs — the storstad sighted — ^fog 
suddenly settles — the storstad crashes into the 
empress — ^injury on stahboard side — ^a mortal blow — 
wireless calls for help — ^hundreds drown in cabin — 
no time to rouse passengers — ^life-boats launched in 
record time — the empress goes down. 

ONCE again an appalling sea disaster comes to remind 
us that no precautions man can take will make him 
immune against the forces that nature, when she so 
wills, can assemble against him. It is a truism to say that 
the most recent marine disaster was preventable. An acci- 
dent suggests the idea of preventability. The Empress of 
Ireland was equipped with modern appliances for safety. 
She had longitudinal and transverse water-tight steel bulk- 
heads and the submarine signaling and wireless apparatus. 
She was being navigated with all the precaution and care 
which the dangers of the course and the atmospheric condi- 
tions demanded. The Storstad had been sighted and sig- 

(13J 



14 THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 

naled. The Empress was at a standstill, or slowly moving 
backward in response to a hasty reversal of the engines. 
Nothing apparently that those responsible for the lives of 
their passengers could do to safeguard those lives was left 
undone, and yet hundreds of people perished miserably. 

THE EMPRESS SAILS FROM QUEBEC 

Proudly the Empress of Ireland, under the command of 
Lieutenant Henry George Kendall of the Royal Navy Reserves, 
moved from her dock at Quebec, about half past four on 
the afternoon of Thursday, May 28, 1914, bound for Liverpool. 
Amid scenes that are ever new and full of deep feeling to those 
who are taking their leave or bidding God-speed to dear ones, 
the majestic ship began what her hundreds of light-hearted 
passengers anticipated as a hon voyage. The last "' Good-bye, 
and God bless you!" had been said; the last embrace had been 
bestowed; the last '' AU ashore that's going ashore," had been 
called out; the last home-stayer had regretfully hurried down 
the gang-board; and then, while hands, hats and handkerchiefs 
were waved, with the ship's band playing a solemn hymn, 
distance grew apace between the Empress and the land. 

THE HOLIDAY HUMOR OF THE PASSENGERS 

Fainter and fainter the crowd on the dock appeared to 
the passengers on board, until finally the dock itseK was lost 
to view as the graceful vessel gained headway. Some of 
the passengers remained long at the ship's rail, held by the 
fascination of the water, which seemed swiftly to approach. 



THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 15 

and as swiftly to move away. Others, singly or in groups, 
left the rail to arrange their belongings in their staterooms, 
to inspect the magnificence of the vessel's equipment, and to 
accustom themselves to their new surroundings. 

Twilight settled without dampening the gay humor of the 
throng. The first meal on board was eaten with a relish 
which only the occasion could impart, and the passengers 
disposed themselves for the full enjoyment of the evening. 

CAPTAIN KENDALL WARNED OF FOGS 

Captain Kendall had been warned of the prevalence of 
fogs in the lower river, and information had reached the liner 
also that there were forest fires in Quebec which were throwing 
smoke blankets over the St. Lawrence. Having experienced 
such conditions before, the commander of the Empress, while 
quite unalarmed, took the usual precautions. 

As night came on he reduced the liner's speed. The night 
was still clear when the incoming Alsatian passed so closely 
that her passengers had a fine view of the big Canadian 
Pacific Railway ship, which showed beautifuUy and majestic- 
ally as she swung by with her decks blazing with electric 
lights. 

Captain Kendall stopped his ship at Rimouski, a town of 
2,000 inhabitants, on the New Brunswick shore, about 180 
miles northeast of Quebec as the channel flows. It is a mail 
station, the last outpost of the Dominion mail service. Bags 
of mail were loaded aboard, and the Empress moved steadily 
out into the broad river. 



16 THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 

At this point the St. Lawrence, leading into the inland sea, 
which is the gulf of St. Lawrence, is thirty miles wide. The 
channel runs about ten miles from the New Brunswick shore 
and about twenty miles from the Quebec shore. 

At midnight the tide was running in strongly. The weather 
was cold and there was a piercing sting to the air. The 
mercury had faUen to just above the freezing point. Few 
passengers were stirring after midnight. It was too cold on 
deck to make late vigils pleasurable. There were a few parties 
in the smoking room at bridge and poker, but the great major- 
ity of the passengers were in their berths. 

THE STOKSTAD SIGHTED 

At half past one o'clock Friday morning the Empress 
reached Father Point, where the pilot was dropped. The 
vessel then proceeded at full speed. After passing the Cock 
Point gas buoy. Captain Kendall sighted the Norwegian 
coUier Storstad. To quote from his own story, as he has 
told it in another chapter: "The Storstad was then about 
one point on my starboard bow. At that time I saw a 
slight fog bank coming gradually from the land and knew 
it' was going to pass between the Storstad and myself. The 
Storstad was about two miles away at the time. 

FOG SUDDENLY SETTLES 

"Then the fog came and the Storstad lights disappeared. 
I rang full speed astern on my engines and stopped my ship. 
At the same time I blew three short blasts on the steamer's 



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18 THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 

whistle, meaning ' I am going full speed astern.' The Stors- 
tad answered with the whistle, giving me one prolonged blast. 
I then looked over the side of my ship into the water and 
saw my ship was stopped. I stopped my engines and blew two 
long blasts, meaning ' my ship was under way but stopped and 
has no way upon her.' He answered me again with one 
prolonged blast. The sound was then about four points 
upon my starboard bow. It was still foggy. I then looked 
out to where the sound came from. About two minutes after- 
ward I saw his red and green lights. He would then be about 
one ship's length away from me. 

THE STORSTAD CRASHES INTO THE EMPRESS 

''I shouted to him through the megaphone to go full speed 
astern as I saw the danger of collision was inevitable. At the 
same time I put my engines fuU speed ahead, with my helm 
hard aport, with the object of avoiding, if possible, the shock. 
Almost at the same time he came right in and cut me down 
in a line between the funnels." 

Captain Thomas Andersen, who commanded the Storstad, 
gives a different explanation of the approach of the two ships. 
According to his version, which is given elsewhere under his 
own name, "the vessels sighted each other when far apart. 
The Empress of Ireland was seen off the port bow of the 
Storstad. The Empress of Ireland's green or starboard light 
was visible to those on the Storstad. Under these circum- 
stances the rules of navigation gave the Storstad the right 
of way. The heading of the Empress was then changed in 



THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 19 

such a manner as to put the vessels in a position to pass 
safely. Shortly after a fog enveloped fkst the Empress and 
then the Storstad. 

"Fog signals were exchanged. The Storstad's engines 
were at once slowed and then stopped. Her heading re- 
mained unaltered. Whistles from the Empress were heard 
on the Storstad's port bow and were answered. The Em- 
press of Ireland was then seen through the fog close at hand 
on the port bow of the Storstad. She was showing her green 
light and was making considerable headway. 

"The engines of the Storstad were at once reversed at full 
speed and her headway was nearly checked when the vessels 
came together." 

INJURY ON STARBOARD SIDE 

The horrible fact, about which there can be no dispute, 
is that the Storstad crashed bow on into the side of the big 
Canadian liner, striking it on the starboard side about mid- 
way of its length. The steel-sheathed bow of the collier cut 
through the plates and shell of the Empress and penetrated 
the hull for a distance of about twelve feet, according to the 

best testimony. 

The water didn't flow in. It rushed in. From such stories 
as could be gathered from survivors and from members of 
the crew, it appears that Captain Kendall and his officers 
did all that was humanly possible in the fourteen minutes 
that the Empress hung on the river. 

Captain Kendall said that he rang to the engine-room for 



20 THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 

full speed ahead, with the object of trying to run ashore and 
save the passengers, but almost immediately after the engines 
stopped and the ship began to list rapidly. The captain of 
the Storstad declares that it was this action of Captain KendaU 
that prevented him from holding the bow of the Storstad 
in the gaping hole it made and that it was the Empress herself, 
with the way upon her, following the order "Full steam ahead," 
which drew away from the Storstad, bending the collier's 
bow out of the great gash in the liner's side, and disappeared 
in the fog. What further damage may have been done as 
the vessels parted no one seemed to know certainly. 

FOUGHT FOR LIFE IN DARKNESS 

Instantly, it seemed as though there was a nightmare of 
sounds, cries of fear and agony that were too awful to be real. 
All lights went out almost at once. More than 1,400 persons 
were fighting for life in the black dark; yet, for the most 
part the flight was not one of panic, but grim determination 
to find, if possible, some means of safety. 

Wireless operator Bomford and others who managed to 
win a way to the top deck saw scores leap into the sea. They 
saw hundreds trying to crawl up decks that were sloping 
precipitously, lose their balance and fall backward into the 
rising water. Passengers who couldn't get to the few life- 
boats in time seized chairs, anything loose they could find, 
and leaped into the river. 

Very many persons perished in the cold water while cling- 
ing to bits of wreckage and prajring for help. 



THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 



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THE COLLISION ON THE ST. LAWRENCE 

To make clear the somewhat contradictory testimony of Captain Kendall, of the 
Empress of Ireland, and Captain Andersen, of the collier Storstad, as to what took 
place just before and at the time of the fatal collision, diagrams Nos. 1 and 2, which 
are based on_ their statements, tell their own story. In No. 1 the vessels are shown in 
the position in which they were when first sighted, about which position both captains 
agree, the Storstad coming up the river on the starboard, or right side of the Empress 
of Ireland, so that those on the Storstad saw the green, or starboard, light of the 
Empress of Ireland over the port, or left, bow of the Storstad. The collier was in such 
a position that those on the Empress of Ireland could see both its red, port, light and 
its green, starboard, light. If the rules of the sea had been observed, the Empress of 
Ireland would have gone off to the right or steered to starboard so that the vessels 
would have passed each other easily. Instead, both vessels took a course which finally 
ended in position No. 2, in which the Storstad struck the Empress of Ireland between 
the funnels on the right, or stai'board, side, hitting it a glancing blow with its starboard, 
or right, bow. As to how this fatal position was reached, the captains disagree, the 
question of the kind of signals and what response was made, or should have been made, 
being in dispute. 



22 THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 

A MORTAL BLOW 

In a moment the fate of the Empress was known to all. 
The one smashing blow had done for her and the great bull- 
nose of the 3,500-ton freighter had crashed through the ribs 
and bulkheads. The one pithy sentence of Captain KendaU 
summed all. "The ship is gone," he said; "women to the 
boats." 

Kendall was hurt and in great pain, but he showed the 
pluck and decision of a naval officer. In the first minute of 
the disaster he ordered young Edward Bomford, the wireless 
operator, to flash the S. 0. S. call, the cry for help that every 
ship must heed. He ordered officers and stewards to collect 
as many passengers as could be found and hold them for the 
boats. He had nine life-boats overboard within ten minutes. 

WIRELESS CALLS FOR HELP 

The S. 0. S. call was ticked out by Edward Bomford, the 
junior wireless operator. Bomford had just come on duty 
to relieve Ronald Ferguson, when the Storstad rammed the 
Empress. Both young men were thrown to the deck. As 
they picked themselves up they heard the chorus of the dis- 
aster, the cries, groans and screams of injured and drowning 
passengers. 

An officer came running to the wireless house with orders 
from Captain Kendall, but Bomford, at the key, didn't have 
to wait for orders. He began to caU the Marconi station at 
Father Point, and kept at it desperately until he had the ear 
of the Father Point operator. 



THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 23 

Then young Bomford turned his wireless to search the river 
and gulf, and he hurled the news of the Empress' fate 
for 500 miles oceanward. Many steamships picked up the 
call, but they were hours away. They started for the position 
given, but long before they had made any progress the Empress 
and two-thirds of her ship's company were under fifteen 
fathoms of water. Fourteen minutes is too brief a time for 
much rescue work. 

HUNDKEDS DROWN IN CABINS 

Had there been time, hundreds who went down with the 
ship would have survived. A thousand men and women 
who had been asleep awoke too late to scramble to the decks. 
They were crushed or mangled by the bow of the Storstad, 
injured by splintered timbers or overwhelmed in the terrific 
rush of water. 

It is probable that scores who were asleep were killed 
instantly, but hundreds perished while feebly struggling for 
doorways, or while trying for a footing on sloping decks. 
The terror and confusion of the few minutes, while the Em- 
press staggered, listed and sank, can hardly be put in words. 
The survivors themselves could not describe those minutes 
adequately. 

In the brief space of time between the shock of the collision 
and the sinking of the liner there was little chance for sys- 
tematic marshaling of the passengers. Indeed, everything 
indicates that hundreds of those on the steamer probably 
never reached the decks. 



24 THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 

NO TIME TO ROUSE PASSENGERS 

The stewards did not have time to rouse the people from 
their berths. Those who heard the frenzied calls of the 
officers for the passengers to hurry on deck lost no time in 
obeying them, rushing up from their cabins in scanty attire. 
They piled into the boats, which were rapidly lowered, and 
were rowed away. Many who waited to dress were drowned. 

The horror of the interval during which the Empress of 
Ireland was rapidly filling and the frightened throngs on board 
her were hurrying every effort to escape before she sank was 
added to by what seemed like an explosion, which quickly 
followed the ripping and tearing given the liner by the Stor- 
stad's bow. As Captain Kendall afterwards explained, this 
supposed explosion was in reality the pressure of air caused 
by the in-rushing water. The ship's heavy list as the water 
pouring in weighted her on the side she was struck, made the 
work of launching boats increasingly diflficult from moment 
to moment, and when she finally took her plunge to the bottom 
scores still left on her decks were carried down in the vortex, 
only a few being able to clear her sides and find support on 
pieces of wreckage. 

IN THEIR NIGHT CLOTHES 

Many passengers fortunate enough to get into the life-boats 
found themselves garbed only in their night clothes. No 
baggage was saved. The condition of the survivors was 
pitiable. Some had broken arms and legs, and all had suffered 



THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 25 

terribly. L. A. Gosselin, a prominent lawyer from Montreal, 
saved himself by clinging to a raft. 

PICKED UP THE CAPTAIN 

Ernest Hayes, an assistant purser, said that he leaped 
from the promenade deck a minute or two after the collision. 
He climbed into No. 3 life-boat, which, a few minutes later, 
picked up Captain Kendall. 

J. W. Black and his wife, who live in Ottawa, jumped 
together before the ship sank. They got on deck too late 
to find places in a life-boat. They decided to jump and take 
their chances. Fortune was with them, for it sent wreckage 
to Mr. Black's hand, and he kept his wife above water until 
a life-boat reached them. 

William Measures, of Montreal, a member of the Salvation 
Army band, jumped overboard and swam to a life-boat. A 
young Englishman said there was a terrific shock when the 
Storstad struck. He had time only to throw a dressing 
gown over his pajamas and to awaken two of his friends. 

To pluckily leap from the deck of the sinking liner and swim 
around for nearly an hour in the river, and then to fall dead 
from exhaustion on the deck of the Eureka, was the fate of an 
unknown woman. 

Fourteen minutes settled the whole affair. With the decks 
careening, the captain, officers and crew strove like fiends to 
release the boats. One after one, laden with a mass of human- 
ity, sped away. The Storstad followed suit with as much 
ability, but the time was brief. 



28 THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 

Boats there were a plenty, but time there was none. 

When the listing increased and the nose of the ill-fated 
liner twisted skyward, panic seized upon the horde of persons, 
and once more a loud, prolonged burst of agony from several 
hundred throats vibrated through the fog. 

LIFE-BOATS LAUNCHED IN RECORD TIME 

It takes five minutes to launch boats during a drill in harbor, 
when everything is calm and collected and the crews are all at 
their proper stations. The tarpaulin covering has to be 
removed, the falls cleared away and carefully tendered, and 
the boat fended off as it goes down the side. 

But no more unfavorable conditions could be imagined than 
those prevailing when the order "Stand by to abandon ship" 
rang out from the bridge. The ship was listing over at a 
terrifying rate. The seas were flooding her aft, and in addition 
to the list she was sinking stern first. 

Men hurled from sleep by the shock of the collision had to 
hurry to their stations in the confusion that must have been 
inseparable from such an accident. Precious moments 
inevitably were lost in getting the boat crews to their post, 
and all the time the ship was going down. Once the crew 
were at their stations, the launching of the boats must 
have gone on with the precision of clock-work. It was all 
done in twelve minutes. That was remarkable discipline. 
That these nine boats were lowered successfully in the few 
minutes remaining before the ship made her final plunge is 
something that will be remembered forever. 



THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND SAILS 27 

THE EMPRESS GOES DOWN 

While these frantic attempts at rescue were going on, the 
doomed ship was rapidly settling. Her decks were awash, 
and then, with a spasmodic heave, as if giant hands from below 
were pulling her down, the massive sea castle tilted to the 
bottom. Wreckage, spars and bobbing heads, and the few 
small boats trying to escape the vortex^ — ^with the slow heaving 
bulk of the collier in the background — alone marked the scene 
of the catastrophe. 



SIR THOMAS SHAUGHNESSY, PRESIDENT OF 
CANADIAN PACIFIC, DEPLORES LOSS OF LIFE 



S 



IR THOMAS SHAUGHNESSY, president of the 
Canadian Pacific Railway, issued the following 
statement on the morning of the Empress accident : 



"The catastrophe because of the great loss of life is the 
most serious in the history of the St. Lawrence route. Owing 
to the distance to the nearest telegraph or telephone station 
from the scene of the wreck there is unavoidable delay in 
obtaining official details, but we expect a report from Captain 
Kendall in the course of the afternoon. 

"From the facts as we have them, it is apparent that 
about two o'clock this morning the Empress of Ireland when 
off Rimouski and stopped in a dense fog was rammed by the 
Norwegian collier Storstad in such a manner as to tear the 
ship from the middle to the screw, thus making the water-tight 
bulkheads with which she was provided useless. The vessel 
settled down in fourteen minutes. 

"The accident occurred at a time when the passengers 
were in bed and the interval before the steamship went down 
was not sufficient to enable the officers to rouse the passen- 
gers and get them into the boats, of which there were 
sufficient to accommodate a very much larger number of 
people than those on board, including passengers and crew. 
That such an accident should be possible in the river St. 
Lawrence to a vessel of the class of the Empress of Ireland 
and with every possible precaution taken by the owners to in- 
sure the safety of the passengers and the vessel is deplorable. 

"The saddest feature of the disaster is, of course, the 
great loss of life, and the heartfelt sympathy of everybody 
connected with the company goes out to the relatives and 
friends of all those who met death on the ill-fated steam- 
ship." 



CHAPTER II 



Captain Kendall Blames the Storstad 

(Statement of Captain Kendall, Commander op the Empress of Ireland, 
Made at the Coroner's Inquest at Rimouski) 



SLIGHT FOG BANK — NEARNESS OF STORSTAD — SIGNAL GIVEN 
AND ANSWERED — SHOUTED TO COLLIER — SHIP BEGAN TO 
FILL — LIFE-BOATS OUT — DISTRESS SIGNALS — SHIP FOUND- 
ERED QUICKLY — CAPTAIN SHOT INTO THE SEA — RESCUED — 
WORK TO SAVE OTHERS — NO PANIC ABOARD 

A FTER passing Rock Point gas buoy, I sighted the 
/-% steamship Storstad, it then being clear. 

The Storstad was then about one point on my 
starboard bow. At that time I saw a sUght fog bank com- 
ing gradually from the land and knew it was going to pass 
between the Storstad and myself. The Storstad was about 
two miles away at that time. Then the fog came and 
the Storstad's lights disappeared. I rang full speed astern 
on my engines and stopped my ship. 

At the same time I blew three short blasts on the steamer's 
whistle, meaning "1 am going full speed astern." The Stor- 
stad answered with the whistle, giving me one prolonged 
blast. 

I then looked over the side of my ship into the water 

(29) . 



30 CAPTAIN KENDALL BLAMES STORSTAD 

and saw my ship was stopped. I stopped my engines and 
blew two long blasts, meaning ''my ship was under way, 
but stopped and has no way upon her.'* 

He answered me again with one prolonged blast. The 
sound was then about four points upon my starboard bow. 

SHOUTED TO COLLIER 

It was still foggy. I looked out to where the sound 
came from. About two minutes afterward I saw his red 
and green lights. He would then be about one ship's length 
away from me. I shouted to him through the megaphone 
to go full speed astern, as I saw the danger of collision was 
inevitable; at the same time I put my engines full speed 
ahead, with my helm hard aport, with the object of avoid- 
ing, if possible, the shock. Almost at the same time he came 
right in and cut me do^Ti in a line between the funnels. 

I shouted to the Storstad to keep full speed ahead to fill 
the hole he had made. He then backed away. The ship 
began to fill and listed over rapidly. When he struck me, 
I had stopped my engines. I then ran full speed ahead 
again when I saw the danger was so great, with the object 
of running her on shore to save passengers and ship. Almost 
immediately the engines stopped, the ship filling and going 
over all the time, on the starboard. 

In the meantime I had given orders to have the life-boats 
launched. I rushed along the starboard side of the boat 
deck and threw all the grips out of numbers 1, 3, 5 and 7 boats; 
then I went back to the bridge again, where I saw the chief 



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CAPTAIN KENDALL BLAMES STORSTAD 31 

officer rushing along to the bridge. I told him to tell the wire- 
less operator at once to send out distress signals. He told me 
that this had been done. 

SHIP FOUNDERED QUICKLY 

I said: ''Get the boats out as quick as possible." That 
was the last I saw of the chief officer. Then, in about three 
to five minutes after that the ship turned over and foundered. 
I was shot into the sea myself from the bridge and taken 
down with the suction. The next thing I remember was 
seizing a piece of grating. How long I was on it I do not 
know, but I heard some men shout from a life-boat, "There is 
the captain, let us save him." 

WORK TO SAVE OTHERS 

They got to me and pulled me in the boat. The boat 
already had about thirty persons in it. I did my best with 
the people in the boat to assist in saving others. We 
puUe around and picked up twenty or thirty more in the boat, 
and also put about ten around the side in the water, with 
ropes around their waists, hanging on. 

Seeing that we could not possibly save any more, we pulled 
to the Storstad, which was then about a mile and a half away. 
I got all these people put on board the Storstad, then left 
her with six of the crew and went back and tried to save more. 
When we got back there everybody had gone. We searched 
around and could not see anybody alive, so then we returned 
to the Storstad. 



32 CAPTAIN KENDALL BLAMES STORSTAD 

NO PANIC ABOAED 

I had full control of the crew, and they fought to the end. 
There was no panic among the passengers or crew. Every- 
body behaved splendidly. As the ship sank and the water 
rose the boats floated away. The people who were saved 
were saved by the Empress' boats and by the wreckage. 

The Storstad had three or four of her boats out and they 
pulled around and took people off the wreckage. They did 
not get many. 



CHAPTER III 

Captain Andersen's Defense 

By Captain Thomas Andersen' 
Commander of the Storstad 

A TERRIBLE AFFAIR — STORSTAD's RIGHT OF WAY — FOG SIGNALS 
— STORSTAD DID NOT BACK OUT — TO THE RESCUE — INJUSTICE 
TO CAPTAIN — PLEA FOR SUSPENDED JUDGMENT 

A FOG bank settled down and we met. The Empress 
was struck amidship on her starboard side, listed and 
filled rapidly. When we got clear I ordered all 
boats lowered, and we succeeded in taking off between 350 
and 400 people with our crew of twenty-seven men. We 
transferred them to the Lady Eveljni and Eureka, and they 
steamed with them to Rimouski. Then we limped along 
under our own power to Montreal. It is a terrible affair. 
We did all in our power. 

The fact that the Storstad only reached port on Sun- 
day, May 31st, made it impossible to give an authentic 
statement on her behalf before that. All connected with the 
Storstad deplore most deeply the terrible accident which has 
resulted in the loss of so many valuable lives. It is not with 
any desire to condemn others, but simply because it is felt 

3 (33) 



34 CAPTAIN ANDERSEN'S DEFENSE 

that the pubhc is entitled to know the facts, that the follow- 
ing statement is put forward: 

storstad's right of way 

The vessels sighted each other when far apart. The 
Empress of Ireland was seen off the port bow of the Storstad. 
The Empress of Ireland's green, or starboard, light was 
visible to those on the Storstad. Under these circumstances 
the rules of navigation gave the Storstad the right of way. 
i The heading of the Empress was then changed in such a 
manner as to put the vessels in a position to pass safely. 
Shortly after a fog enveloped first the Empress and then the 
Storstad. 

" Fog signals were exchanged, the Storstad's engines were 
at once slowed and then stopped. Her heading remained 
unaltered. Whistles from the Empress were heard on the 
Storstad's port bow and were answered. The Empress of 
Ireland was then seen through the fog, close at hand on the 
port bow of the Storstad. She was showing her green light 
and was making considerable headway. 

The engines of the Storstad were at once reversed at full 
speed, and her headway was nearly checked when the vessels 
came together. 

DID NOT BACK OUT 

It has been said that the Storstad should not have backed 
out of the hole made by the collision. She did not do so. 
As the vessels came together, the Storstad's engines were 



CAPTAIN ANDERSEN'S DEFENSE 35 

ordered ahead for the purpose of holding her bow against 
the side of the Empress and thus preventing the entrance of 
water into the vessel. 

The headway of the Empress, however, swung the Storstad 
around in such a way as to twist the Storstad's bow out of 
the hole, and to bend the bow itself over to port. 

The Empress at once disappeared in the fog. The Storstad 
sounded her whistle repeatedly in an effort to locate the 
Empress of Ireland, but could obtain no indication of her 
whereabouts until cries were heard. The Storstad was then 
maneuvered as close to the Empress as was safe, in view of the 
danger of injury to the persons who were already in the water. 

TO THE RESCUE 

The Storstad at once lowered every one of her boats, and 
sent them to save the passengers and crew of the Empress, 
though she herseK was in serious danger of sinking. When two 
boats from the Empress reached the Storstad, the Storstad's 
men also manned these boats and went in them to the rescue. 

Her own boats made several trips and, in all, about 250 
persons were taken on board and everything that the ship's 
stores contained was used for their comfort. Clothes of those 
on the Storstad were placed at the disposal of the rescued and 
every assistance was rendered. 

INJUSTICE TO CAPTAIN 

The statements which have appeared in the press, indicating 
that there was the slightest delay on the part of the Storstad 



36 CAPTAIN ANDERSEN'S DEFENSE 

in rendering prompt and efficient aid, do a cruel injustice to 
the captain, who did not hesitate to send out every boat he 
had in spite of the desperate condition of his own ship. 

The owners of the Storstad ask of the public that, in all 
fairness to both the company and their commander, judgment 
as to where the blame for the disaster should rest be suspended 
until an impartial tribunal has heard the evidence of both sides. 

When Captain Kendall shouted through the megaphone, 
I shouted back, but I did not have the megaphone at hand, 
so I shouted as loud as I could; our man on the lookout 
heard me call. I did go full speed ahead. I kept my hand 
on the telegraph to the engine-room, and the very moment 
we touched the other ship I rang the engineer full speed ahead, 
but the Empress was going at a good speed and it was impos- 
sible for me to keep our bow in the hold. She disappeared 
from this ship and for a long time I kept my whistle blowing, 
but I heard nothing until the cries. 



CHAPTER IV 
Miraculous Escape of the Few 

HEROIC demeanor OF CAPTAIN KENDALL — ^RESPONSE TO WIRE- 
LESS CALLS FOR HELP — ^EUREKA AND LADY EVELYN ON 
SCENE OF DISASTER — THE SEARCH FOR THE QUICK AND 
THE DEAD — TERRIBLE PLIGHT OF SURVIVORS — SAD 
SCENES AT RIMOUSKI — ^WILLING HANDS HELP — TALES OF 
NARROW ESCAPES — THOSE WHO DIED BRAVELY. 

5^ MID the terrifying confusion, the awful darkness, 
r^^ and the harrowing scenes of death and despair, 
Captain KendaU bore himself like a true sailor as long 
as his ship stood under him. He retained such command 
of the situation that while the Storstad's stem still hung in 
the gap it had made in the Empress' side. Captain Kendall 
begged the master of the collier to keep his propellers going 
so that the hole might remain plugged. 

Captain Kendall stood on his bridge as the ship went down. 
One of the boats from the liner picked him up, and he directed 
its work of saving others until the craft was loaded. The 
captain was injured in the crash and suffered from exposure. 

RESPONSE TO WIRELESS CALLS FOR HELP 

Brief as was the time in which the S. O. S. calls could be 
sent out from the wireless on the stricken Empress, they were 

(37) 



38 MIRACULOUS ESCAPE OF THE FEW 

caught by J. Mc Williams, the wireless operator at Father 
Point. Half hysterical, he ran down the wharf to where the 
little mail tender Eureka was lying. 

"For God's sake," he cried to Captain Boulanger, ''get down 
stream at once. The Empress of Ireland has gone under!" 

Captain Boulanger got his men together, and as he had steam 
up, after taking the mails to the Empress, got under way at 
once, followed shortly by the government boat Lady Evelyn. 

EUREKA AND LADY EVELYN ON THE SCENE OF DISASTER 

The Eureka and Lady Evelyn found, on reaching the point 
where the Empress sank, a scene not dissimilar to that which 
greeted the liners which rushed to the Titanic's aid. They 
found the ship sunk, and the surface of the water, fortunately 
calm, dotted with life-boats and smeared with floating debris 
from which many poor souls had been forced by exhaustion 
to loosen their hold. 

In the life-boats were huddled the survivors, dazed and 
moaning, some then dying of injuries sustained in the crash 
or in the rush of leaving the sinking Empress. Crushed by 
the collision, injured in their efforts to leap into life-boats, or 
suffering from immersion in the icy water and exposure in the 
life-boats in which they escaped, the survivors presented a 
pitiable condition. 

THE SEARCH FOR THE QUICK AND THE DEAD 

The government steamships worked rapidly, and took on 
the survivors from the life-boats and a few persons that were 



MIRACULOUS ESCAPE OF THE FEW 39 

clinging to bits of wreckage. Fifty dead bodies were picked 
up and the women cried aloud as they were brought aboard, 
some eagerly scanning the faces of the corpses for lost relatives 
and friends. Several of them walked around wringing their 
hands in a wild hysteria, and even the hardened members 
wept at the terribly pathetic scene. 

One woman, whose identity was not established, let go 
her hold on a broken timber and tried to swim to the Lady 
Evelyn. She was nearly naked and too far gone from exposure 
to reach the steamship. 

The Eureka picked up thirty-two of the survivors who were 
injured, and recovered a number of dead bodies. The Lady 
Evelyn rescued the great majority of the survivors. She also 
saved Captain Kendall. 

The government boats, Lady Grey and Strathcona, on 
arriving later, found the Eureka and Lady Evelyn lying to 
in proximity to the Storstad picking up scattered boats and 
searching among the scraps of floating debris. 

TERRIBLE PLIGHT OF SURVIVORS 

Many of the sarvdvors were in a terrible condition following 
the exposure; the heartrending shock had driven some of 
them to the verge of hysterical insanity. Others, with the 
echo of the death screams ringing in their ears, were gathered 
in a dazed and pathetic condition. The fact that they were 
saved did not seem to be appreciated. The vision of death 
stayed with them for hours, and in many instances utter 
nervous collapse followed. 



40 MIRACULOUS ESCAPE OF THE FEW 

The Eureka and the Lady Evelyn cruised at the scene of 
the disaster for haK an hour, until their commanders were 
certain that there were no more survivors to be picked up. 

SAD SCENES AT KIMOUSKI 

When the tug Eureka, with thirty-nine survivors, came up 
to the Father Point wharf, an agent of the Canadian Pacific 
Railway advised Captain Boulanger, of the tug, to put in at 
the Rimouski wharf for the reason that better care could 
be given to the survivors there. Rimouski is a town of 2,000, 
with doctors and medical facilities. 

The Canadian Pacific official telephoned to Rimouski ahead 
of the Eureka and ordered all the cabs and doctors that could 
be obtained. Within an hour the Eureka's rescued were being 
cared for at Rimouski. There were distressing, unforgettable 
scenes as the living and dead were delivered to the shore. 

The Lady Evelyn, with survivors and corpses, arrived at the 
Rimouski wharf later. Among the rescued were men and 
women who had not had time to bring with them more than 
their night clothes. The officers and crew of the mail tender 
had done what they could in providing coats, but their supply 
was not ample for the hundreds, and many suffered terribly 
from the cold. 

The mercury was down to a few degrees above freezing 
and these wretched ones had endured exposure for more 
than two hours. 



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MIRACULOUS ESCAPE OF THE FEW 41 

WILLING HANDS HELP 

"At 6:10 A. M. the Norwegian collier Storstad, coal-laden 
from Sydney, N. S., for Montreal, came along slowly. When 
her bow was seen smashed in it became known that she was the 
vessel that had struck the Empress of Ireland the fatal blow. 
The Storstad was not too much damaged to aUow her to 
proceed on to Quebec under her own steam. She also had 
some survivors and dead bodies, which were taken from her 
by the steamers Eureka and Lady Evelyn and landed on the 
Rimouski wharf. 

Most of the population of Rimouski were at the wharf, 
ready and eager to do what was possible. They carried 
blankets, clothing, hot coffee, food and medicines. The 
mayor, H. R. Fiset, was in charge of the relief work, acting 
with the local Canadian Pacific agents. 

McWiUiams, the wireless man from Father Point, had 
hurried over to assist in the relief work, and few gained more 
praise than was accorded to him. Every doctor in the town 
was hard at work for hours, going from house to house where 
the survivors were quartered. 

TWENTY-TWO DIE AFTER BEING RESCUED 

Two relief stations were established, one at the wharf and 
one at the Intercolonial Railroad station, but these were not 
adequate for the care of so many. The grave problem was 
solved by the open-heartedness of the townspeople, who 
turned over their own homes to the suffering. Of the survivors, 
it was found that forty-seven were from the second cabin. 



42 MIRACULOUS ESCAPE OF THE FEW 

In this class had traveled about one hundred and fifty Salvation 
Army delegates, who were on their way from the Dominion 
cities to attend a great international conference in London. 
Only a few of these were rescued. 

Twenty-two persons died of their injuries or from exposure 
after being taken out of the life-boats or from floating wreckage. 
One man suffered from broken legs. A woman was found who 
had a leg and arm broken. Others were crushed or injured 
internally. Many of the survivors were rushed to Quebec 
after thej^ had had preliminary care at Rimouski. 

TALES OF NARROW ESCAPES 

Some of the survivors were able to give snatches of their 
experience. One explained quietly that he had made up his 
mind that he had to die. The boats had gone. He could find 
nothing that promised to support him in the water. He made 
his way to the rail of the ship and waited until it sank. 

As he went down he held his breath, held it for an age, it 
seemed to him, but finally he came to the surface and luckily 
near a life-boat. A sailor seized him hj the collar and hauled 
him in. 

THOSE WHO DIED BRAVELY 

The penetrating, lasting grief is that the fortunates who 
escaped were but few of the 1,475 souls that set sail on the 
Empress. Death's threatening wave engulfed almost all 
of them, but we may be sure that whether in the isolation of 
their cabins or in the crowded confusion of the final plunge 



MIRACULOUS ESCAPE OF THE FEW 43 

on deck they died bravely. That, indeed, seems to be the 
outstanding feature of this terrible tale of the sea. To face 
death unafraid, whether it comes in the sick room, in tempest, 
fire, or flood, is the supreme test of fortitude. In our sorrow 
for those who died and for those who were bereaved let us 
remember that a thousand Canadians went to their deaths — 
as Britons for centuries have gone — ^masters of themselves, 
with head erect and spirit unconquered by the king of terrors. 



CHAPTER V 

The Stricken Survivors Return 

extreme suffering among survivors — ^few women and 
children saved — crowd greets survivors — ^many in- 
jured — ^experiences of survivors. 

A GRIM reminder of the fact that even the most per- 
fect of modern Atlantic Uners is subject to the 
dangers of the sea was given when the survivors 
of the passengers and crew who so gaily sailed from Quebec 
on Thursday returned to that city, ragged, exhausted and 
wounded, leaving hundreds of their shipmates dead in the 
river or strewing the shore with their corpses. 

EXTREME SUFFERING AMONG SURVIVORS 

The survivors were carried by the special Intercolonial 
Railway, and a more mixed, worn-out crowd of passengers 
never appeared on a train in Canada. It was more like a 
relief train after a battle than a returning party from a 
steamship. The men were weary and worn, dressed in any- 
thing that could be secured at Rimouski to cover them, 
most of them having been rescued either nude or in their 
night clothes. 

(44) 



THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 45 

FEW WOMEN AND CHILDEEN SAVED 

The women in the party were few, it being evident that 
the terrible experiences of the early part of the day, when 
the Empress of Ireland went to the bottom of the St. Law- 
rence, had claimed a far greater toll of the weaker sex. 

Such few women as were left showed shocking traces of 
the hardships and anguish they had endured. Most of 
them were supported by men, and after disembarking from 
the train walked through the lane of curious sight-seers with 
drawn features and the utter indifference of suffering and 
fatigue. 

A pathetic contrast was furnished by the presence of a 
few children in the sad procession, who had with the buoy- 
ancy of youth recovered from the shipwreck and prattled 
merrily to mothers or to their protectors when their mothers 
were not there, evidently enjoying the excitement of the 
rescue. 

CROWD GREETS SURVIVORS 

The crush about the train, notwithstanding the lateness of 
the hour, was tremendous. A huge crowd gathered in and 
near the station, which resounded with a cheer as the sm-vivors 
filed on the platform. The latter experienced difficulty in 
passing through the portals to the waiting civic motor cars. 

Some of the spectators endeavored to sing the Doxology, 
but it was a feeble effort. Heart-broken relatives sobbed, 
while others wandered aimlessly in and out of the crowd 
looking for an absent face. Three young girls were seen crying 



46 THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 

piteously for their parents who were drowned. They were 
taken in charge by a Salvation Army officer and conveyed to 
the Training Home. 

Throngs surged forward and defied the pohcemen in an 
endeavor to snatch a gUmpse of the saved ones. Leaning 
on the arm of a friend, a tall woman wearing huge bandages 
stepped first to the platform and her profound sigh of relief 
was heard by everyone in the hushed assemblage. Around her 
forehead was strapped a bandage. The chin bore a large 
zigzag of court-plaster and a heavy black welt under the eye 
showed what painful injuries she had received. She was 
Mrs. Eddy from Birmingham, England. At the crash she 
had rushed to the deck in night attire, and this action resulted 
in her rescue. 

MANY INJURED 

Then came the long row of stretchers with their inert 
occupants. Every man was alive, but in many cases that 
was all. In spite of arms and legs broken in the grinding of 
wreckage, many of these cripples had remained afloat long 
enough to be seen and gathered in. 

Every one of the invalids was rushed in a special ambulance 
to the Jeffrey Hale Hospital, while the slightly injured were 
allotted to quarters in the Chateau Frontenac. 

Touching in its pathos was the contingent of third-class 
passengers. In little groups they huddled about the state- 
room of the ferry, gazing at each other in dumb thankfulness, 
and rarely expressing a syllable. There were nine Russians 



THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 47 

and two Poles bound for their homeland. In the hour of 
peril they had leaped from the reeling decks, in many instances 
grasping to the end the little carpet and bandana bundles 
which represented all their worldly effects. 

EXPERIENCES OF SURVIVORS 

The stories that were related by the survivors of the horrible 
disaster were dramatic, pathetic, and touched here and there 
with grim humor. 

''all over in fifteen minutes" 

"It was just like walking down the beach into the sea. 
As the boat went over we climbed over the rail and slid 
down the stanchions onto the plates, and walked into the 
sea." 

In this matter-of-fact manner did J. F. Duncan, of London, 
England, describe how he left his cabin on the promenade 
deck, in his pajama suit, and how he parted company with 
the ship. 

When asked what he had to say about the disaster, he 
replied: ''There is nothing to tell; it was all over in fifteen 
minutes. The signals woke me up and I lay in my berth 
amidships on the starboard side. That was the side the 
collier ran into us, but she was a low boat, and so my cabin 
was not crushed in as were some of those immediately below 
me. Directly the collision occurred the Empress began to 
list, and I immediately went on deck. 

"When I once got out of the cabin I could not get back, 



48 THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 

but fortunately I had taken my overcoat out of my baggage 
the previous night, and I slipped this on. 

KNEW IT WAS THE END 

''It was pretty rotten on deck. We simply stood there, 
we knew we were going down, there was no question about 
that from the first, and it was no good struggling. The poor 
women were hysterical, but there was no chance to do anything 
for them. When the steamer heeled over we walked into the 
water, and I struck out for the rescuing steamer, which was 
standing about haK a mile off. 

"Somehow or another the life-boats appeared and began 
picking us up. I was in the water a jolly long time: it seemed 
like an hour and I believe it was an hour. It was terribly 
cold and I am stiff all over this morning. I eventually got 
into a life-boat and was taken on board the collier. They 
told me there were fifty-three on the life-boat — ^it was quite 
full up. Dr. Grant was on the collier, and he patched us up 
until the Lady Evelyn took us ashore. 

"like a lot of Indians" 

"We were like a lot of Red Indians when we got on the 
wharf — all wrapped up in blankets. I never saw such a big 
supply from so small a ship. They looked after us like princes 
at Rimouski. The local people were most kind — in fact, when 
you see me put on my clothes you won't think I had ever 
been shipwrecked. They got the clothes from the stores and 
fitted us all out — ^it was the most wonderful place in the world. 



THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 49 

''Let me introduce you to my toilet," continued Mr. Duncan, 
as he held up a tooth-brush and a tube of tooth paste. "I do 
want a bath." 

Mr. Duncan paid a high tribute to Dr. Grant. ''He stood 
out as a typical Anglo-Saxon, calm, commanding, looking 
after the injured. He is a magnificent man." 

FOUR CLIMBED ON UPTURNED LIFE-BOAT; SAVED MANY LIVES 

The sensation of sinking with the suction of the leviathan 
steamship as she went down, of being pulled down for fathoms 
under water, and of rising on the crest of the reacting swell 
to catch the keel of an upturned skiff, was the night's adventure 
of Staff Captain McCameron, of the Salvation Army, Toronto. 
The story as told in the Captain's words is as follows: 

"What an unspeakable confusion there was on the listing 
decks! With every lurch of the steamer we had to take a 
step higher and higher to the upper side, and finally I gained 
the rail, and stuck to it. I could swim, but I knew the mad 
folly of jumping into that swirling cataract at the side of the 
ship. She was sinking, inch by inch, now faster and faster. 
In a breathless moment, I felt the last rush to the bottom. A 
moilient we hung on the surface. Then an endless, dreadful 
force dragged us down. How deep I went I cannot know, 
of course. It was yards and yards. Then came the cresting 
of the wave, and I was buoyed up on it. I had clutched tight 
at my senses meanwhile, and strove not to lose my head. 
The moment my head emerged, I saw a dark object on the 
water. I struck out for this, and soon was grasping the keel 



50 THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 

of an overturned ship's boat. I clambered aboard, not much 
the worse, and not very unduly excited. 

"Three or four more men also managed to get on the rocking 
back of the boat, and we then got to another which we righted, 
and got into. The canvas covering had not been taken from 
this boat, and a member of the crew, who was of us, ripped this 
open and enabled us to board it. The oars were intact. With- 
in a few minutes, therefore, we were at work rescuing the 
people whose bodies eddied about us in circles. 

"One man grasped the end of my oar. He slipped. Again 
I reached his hand with it. Then he sank out of sight. A 
woman, a foreigner, had better fortune. The third time she 
did not slip off, and we managed to get her aboard. She 
was saved. I do not know her name. She was a steerage 
passenger. 

"The ship's surgeon saved dozens of lives by his work of 
resuscitation on land. No sooner had we got to shore, than 
he had us at work manipulating the chests and limbs of the 
apparently drowned in efforts to save them. He was a 
Heaven-sent messenger to many stricken souls." 

SALVATION ARMY LASSIE RESCUED W^HEN ABOUT TO SINK 

Tales of each other's heroic rescues, and shuddering accounts 
of their own mishaps and fight for life in the swirling St. 
Lawrence, were told. 

With a blanket thrown round her shoulders, her eyes lit 
with the wild excitement of the night of horror, Miss Alice 
Bales, one of the young women Salvationists who was saved. 



THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 51 

recounted how her struggles finally brought succor and safety. 
Her cheeks were successively hectic and pallid as she told the 
hideous story. She said: 

" I thought we had struck an iceberg when I heard the fearful 
grinding in the bows. With a cry to the girls who were with 
me, I stumbled out of the narrow stateroom, and groped up 
to the deck. Here was chaos. The ship was listing, listing, 
listing. Every step I took to the uppermost part of the deck, 
I seemed to be slipping back into that maelstrom of water 
and falling bodies. Finally, I gained the rail. I climbed up 
on the rail, and with a prayer in my heart I jumped into the 
blackness. The water surged over my head. Down, down, 
I went. I could not swim a stroke. But I remembered that 
you should keep the air in your lungs, and as I sank I clenched 
mj^ jaws, determined to stay with the battle as long as strength 
lasted. After long, long periods of struggle and fainting 
and renewed struggle, I saw a man, not far off, swimming 
with a life-belt. I forgot to tell you that I fastened a belt 
around my waist when I jumped. 

''I reached my hand towards this hope of rescue, the man's 
belt. It eluded me. Finally I grasped it. Then I saw how 
the man made the swimming motions, like a frog. I tried 
to do the same. I used every fibre and nerve to make the 
motions. I knew this was the chance for life. 

"Then, when my energy was going fast, I heard a faint cry. 
There was a cluster of people. It was a life-boat. 

"The next few moments are indistinct in my memory. 
Some one was lifting me, dragging me oyer something hard. 



52 THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 

Now they were speaking to me. They revived me, and I 
was got aboard the Storstad, the ship that struck us. 

" I can't tell you any more. The scenes on the deck, ah " 

CLIMBED UP SIDE OP LINER AS SHE KEELED OVER 

A dramatic escape was related by Major Atwell of the Sal- 
vation Army, Toronto. Major AtweU lost all his belongings 
in the disaster. When he reached Montreal his clothing 
told of the struggle and its sequel. Peculiarly enough, as was 
the case with the Titanic, the shock of the collision was 
scarcely felt by a number of the passengers. 

"My experience," said Major Atwell, ''was that the slight 
shock scarcely worried me at all. I had an idea at the time 
that we had perhaps struck the tender, so slight appeared the 
shock. I did not look upon it as anything serious, but my 
wife thought I had better get up. 

''My wife and I went on deck and we found that the vessel 
was listing and the list was increasing. It was all over in a 
few minutes. The list grew greater. It was so great that I 
could see no chance of getting into a life-boat, even if one was 
launched, and I did not see how one could be launched. So I 
fastened a life-belt round my wife and put one on myself. 

"As the vessel heeled over, we clung to the rail and finally 
clambered over it on the side of the ship. As the boat sank, 
we clambered farther and farther along the side in the direction 
of the keel, until we had climbed, I think, a third of the way. 

"Finally we jumped into the water and were picked up b^^ 
one of the life-boats." 



THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 53 

HUSBAND GAVE WIFE BELT; PLUNGED OUT TO SAVE 

HIMSELF 

Mrs. Atwell gave a graphic account of the struggle she and 
her husband, Major Atwell, had in the seething waters, 
narrating how with the one life-belt between them her husband 
chivalrously placed this around her and himseK struck out 
boldly into the waves. 

'^I was just lightly sleeping when I heard a slight crash," 
she said. ''We thought the ship had struck the tender or pilot 
boat. Then I heard the engines start, going as hard as they 
could. I tried to rouse my husband. We got up almost 
directly, but by that time the water was coming in, and we 
climbed up on deck. My husband secured one life-belt and 
placed it around me. We climbed over the rail, for the ship 
was listing heavily, but we hung on to the port-hole for a few 
minutes, and then I heard a slight explosion. Then the 
water seemed to gush up, and my husband said ^Jump!' 

''In the water I grasped my husband's clothing and held 
on to his back; and there we just hung together and swam. 
My husband swims, but I just kicked and struggled and held 
on to him, and eventually I found my limbs very stiff, so that 
I had to be helped into the boat. We were put on the 
Storstad for a time and then on the Lady Evelyn and put 
into the cabin. 

''One man who had a broken leg went insane. There was 
very little screaming, and there was nothing in the way of 
unseemly struggles." 



54 THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 

BOAT LISTED SO BADLY PEOPLE COULD NOT GET UP DECK STAIRS 

As Adjutant McRae, of the Salvation Army, Montreal, 
walked down the aisle of a sleeping car, a curtain rustled and 
parted. 

''Oh, Adjutant! Alf! Look!" 

''My hojV^ came the Adjutant's earnest answ^er, as he 
reached upward to bury one of Captain Rufus Spooner's 
hands in both of his, and then turned to murmur broken 
words of cheer to Lieutenant Alfred Keith, who lay in the 
opposite bed. Both had escaped by a hair's breadth. 

"The awful thing," said Captain Spooner, "was to see the 
people trying to get up the staircase. The ship had listed 
so far over by the time we got up that to try to get upstairs 
was almost impossible. We got up a few steps, only to fall 
back again. All round me were frantic men and women, and 
then, before I could fairly realize where I was or what I could 
do next, I seemed to be lifted right up and carried forward 
off the ship into the water." 

"I was rolled over and over, twisted round and round, 
banged against bits of wreckage and got my foot caught in 
something of iron and rope. I thought I was gone then, for 
I'm not a great swimmer; but I managed to get free. I swam 
round till some one got me by the neck and I felt my head 
going under. I thought again I was gone for certain; but 
I got free the second time and started out again to try for a 
boat. It was a narrow shave." 

"Yes, it was," put in Lieutenant Keith, "and mine was 
like it." 



THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 55 

"The third time," went on the captain, ''I had sense enough 
not to spend the little strength I had left, and I got hold of a 
spar and rolled over on it to keep myself up. I drifted like 
that for a long time till I was picked up and taken to Rimouski. 
All I've got left is my bunch of keys, which stuck in my pocket." 
He produced them and jingled them affectionately. '^I'm 
going to hang on to them as a souvenir." 

PICKED UP BY BOAT FILLED WITH MEMBERS OF CREW 

A member of the staff band of the Salvation Amy, J. 
Johnson, of Toronto, got hold of a boat as it was drifting away 
from the steamer and hung to the side, and was saved in his 
night attire. 

"We were all asleep in the second cabin when the crash 
came," he said. "I went upstairs to see what had happened 
and the other three fellows in the cabin stayed behind. Two 
of them were drowned and one got out. When I got up on 
deck I found the boat listing over and I ran back and told 
the others to come out. 

"I saw the people struggling along the corridors to get on 
deck, but it was awkward because the water was coming into 
the vessel. Commissioner Rees and some others were just 
going along in front of me and I assisted them up as well as 
I could, and eventually we got to the deck, where I lost sight 
of them. 

"The boat was listing so badly that I slid down to the lower 
end, nearest the water, and caught hold of the rails. I saw 
they were cutting away the boats, and by this time the steamer 



66 THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 

was nearly flat on its side. They had no time to launch the 
life-boats, and as one went loose I jumped over and hung on 
to the side, and then got in. I hardly thought they would 
let me in at first, there were so many in it already. But 
every one was helpful. The desire to save themselves did 
not prevent the occupants of the boat from reaching out a 
helping hand to others. 

''When I did get in all the ropes were not quite cut, and the 
liner was nearly on top of us. We seemed to be getting under- 
neath the davits again, and expected every moment to go 
under. We managed to get away just in time, just as she was 
sinking, and we were only ten feet away from the steamer 
when she turned over and went under. While we knew there 
was no hope for us on the doomed vessel, it was a horrible 
sight to see her go down. 

"There was not so much suction as I thought there would 
be. We were lifted up, the boat being on the top of a wave. 
We hung around quite a bit to see what the other boats were 
doing, and then we went to the collier. 

'/ 1 think I was the only passenger in the boat. AU the rest 
were from the crew. I don't know why this was so, but all 
the people were holding so to the higher side of the ship and 
when the boat was cut free there was no one to get in her 
except the crew. 

"We pulled two other men out of the sea — ^they were also 
members of the crew. There were nine saved out of the staff 
band of thirty-nine players. The bandmaster and his wife 
were drowned, but their little girl of seven was saved." 



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THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 57 

TORONTO WOMAN SPENT LONG TIME IN WATER BEFORE 

RESCUE 

The highest tributes were paid by aU to a brave woman 
who spent a longer time in the water than almost any other 
of the rescued. In telling her story, she said: 

''I and my daughter were helped to the side of the ship 
by Bandsman Mclntyre, of the Salvation Army. We crawled 
to the side and as the ship leaned over we slid over the edge of 
the deck into the water. 

"Oh, it was cold. I began to be numbed and lost track of 
my daughter, of whom I have heard no news since. I don't 
know how long I was in the water; it was so cold, I had almost 
given up hope, when I seemed to feel arms lifting me out. 
Then it seemed to get colder than ever for a moment, and the 
next thing I remember I was on the collier with a crowd of 
other draggled individuals. From then on, everything was 
done for me, and even during the train journey up I managed 
to get rested up a little." 

UNKNOWN MEMBER OF CREW SAVED SEVERAL LIVES 

Staff Captain McAmmond, of Toronto, relates how at- 
tempts were made by one of the crew of the Empress to 
pick up survivors from the water. Who the man was 
Captain McAmmond did not know, but he evidently saved 
several lives. 

"As the Empress went down," said he, "I clung to the 
taffrail and hung over the vessel's stern. As she sank, I 
was dragged down into the water, but was immediately 



58 THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 

forced up again. Down I went again; again, I came up. 
Finally I managed to swim clear and succeeded in reaching 
an overturned life-boat. 

"There were several such. A man was already clinging to 
the boat and he helped me to get a firm hold. We floated 
along with the boat until we reached another. Holding to 
this we found a member of the crew. It was a collapsible 
boat and under his instruction we were able to get it righted 
and use the oars. 

*'It was terribly cold in the water. Some of the people 
we assisted were so numbed that it was only w4th the greatest 
difficulty we succeeded in saving them." 

OTTAWA MAN PUT WIFE IN BOAT; WAS SAVED LATER 

"Thank God I saved my wife; for myself I am not anxious," 
said John W. Black, of Ottawa, when he painfully limped 
across the platform of the Grand Trunk station, carrying a 
little paper bundle — all his belongings — ^imder his arm. 
His left leg was badly lacerated and he had much difficulty 
in walking to St. James Street, where a cab took him and his 
wife to the Windsor station for the first train to Ottawa. 
Mrs. Black was cheerful and smiling in spite of bruises and 
scratches and the terrible exposure of the water and the cold 
night. 

And this is the story, interrupted at times, as Mr. Black 
told it: 

"I was asleep in my bunk when I felt the terrible impact 
of the collision. At first I thought it must be an evil dream 



THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 59 

and I saw visions of doomsday. But, looking out through 
the skylight, I saw frantic seamen rushing to the ship's side, 
sliding down and, as often as not, being dashed head first 
into the sea. The Empress of Ireland was then keeling over. 

"In a flash I saw that the thing had happened. Literally 
tearing my wife from her berth, I dashed onto the deck, and 
we both slid down the deck and were projected into the water. 
Then followed moments that no man could ever describe. 
Half drunk as I was with sleep, the sudden and terrible 
awakening produced an indescribable effect on me. For a 
moment I saw nothing but dirty gray. I struggled wildly for 
the surface, and the time seemed like years. 

*'As soon as I got to the surface I saw my wife struggling 
beside me. Right at our side was a deserted life-boat which 
must have broken from its davits. I managed to push my 
wife into it, but was unable to follow myself. So I shouted 
to my wife to sit tight, and that I would swim until I was 
picked up. 

''The last life-boat was only a few yards away from me, 
passing by the side of the sinking Empress, when suddenly a 
huge, heavy superstructure broke from the steamer's side, 
falling with a terrible crash into the boat. I shut my eyes in 
horror. When I looked up again all that was left of the life- 
boat and her forty-five occupants were a few stumps of wreck- 
age. Poor people, they had gone to their doom! Fortunately 
death was sudden and merciful. 

''A few minutes afterwards I was picked up by one of the 
boats from the Storstad. I cannot express the joy and relief 



60 THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 

I felt when I saw my wife half seated, half lying in the boat. 
She was not badly hurt, however, and we soon were crying in 
each other's arms. 

''The men of the Storstad treated us well the little time we 
remained on her. Not long after the rescue we were taken 
aboard the Government vessel Lady Evelyn. 

''At Rimouski we were treated and helped in every possible 
way by Mayor Fiset of Rimouski. He did all that could be 
done to help us." 

SAW collision; empress was sounding her siren 

A steerage passenger, John Fowler, was one of the few who 
actually saw the collision between the Empress and the Stor- 
stad. Fowler was from Vancouver, and immediately on 
arriving at Quebec rushed off to catch another train. 

"I actually saw the Storstad approaching the Empress," 
Fowler afl&rmed. 

"Was there any fog at the time?" he was asked. 

"Yes," he replied, "there was fog, but it was not very 
thick." 

"Did you notice whether the Empress had her siren going?" 

"Yes, she had," was the reply, "I noticed it just before 
the collision." 

"The shock," Mr. Fowler continued, "did not seem to be 
at all severe. I just felt it and had no idea the result had 
been so serious. 

"The water came into our port-hole, and reached above 
my shoulders before I could shut it. By that time the ship 



THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 61 

was heeling over so badly that it was difficult to get out. 
I heard the siren blowing a great deal, and got up to look 
out to see whether we were passing another vessel or were 
whistling for a pilot. I had just got my head out through the 
hole when the coUier drove right into us just beyond me. 
And then we gradually went over to one side. 

FELL INTO WATER 

''I tried to quiet the people when I got out," continued 
Fowler, ''by telling them that it was all right, and that the 
boat would right herself. I saw a lady with two children, 
a small baby and one little girl of six, and I put on them a life- 
belt each, which I grabbed from the spare ones by the side of 
the stairs. I took them on deck and in a kind of panic we 
lost each other and I don't know if any of them were saved. 
Every one was struggling to get on deck, and if I had not had 
strength I could not have got away. I climbed up to the 
second saloon deck and went along there and saw Miss Wil- 
mot struggling to get up the steps. She could not do so, as 
the boat was listing so badly and there was a lot of water in 
the passage, into which she fell back. 

"The ship was so much to one side that you could walk on 
her plates as on a floor." 

MONTREAL MAN SAW NO LIFE-BELTS 

''When the boat commenced to slide over I looked for a 
life-preserver, but found that some one had taken every one 
of them from the promenade deck. So I went back to my 



62 THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 

cabin and took the life-preserver on the top of the wardrobe. 
The majority of passengers did not seem to know that there 
were Hfe-preservers in their cabins, and although they were 
easily accessible they were not conspicuous and many could 
not find them in the confusion, although they looked." 

Thus did Lionel Kent, of Montreal, tell of the sinking of 
the Empress: 

''I was in Cabin 41, which was aft on the promenade deck, 
and my traveling companion was Mr. Gosselin. He woke 
me about an hour after I had retired and told me there had 
been a collision. I did not feel it at all. I went on deck at 
once in my night attire and my bathrobe, and I saw the two 
boats just drifting apart. At that time there were no lights 
on the deck, and very few people were about, but they soon 
began to appear. 

" I remained on the port side of the boat as the list continued 
until the starboard side was under water. Then I jumped 
into the water with many other people, and was picked up ten 
minutes later by one of the life-boats. Those in her, number- 
ing about thirty, were mostly members of the crew, with four 
or five women. 

" The boats on the port side of the liner could not be launched 
because, owing to the list of the ship, thej^ swung inwards on 
the davits instead of out over the sea. The only boats that 
could be launched were those on the starboard side. 

"I think a good many people were injured by the sliding 
of the port life-boat when it was released, for it slid along the 
deck to the starboard side and crushed many people against 
the railings. 



THE STRICKEN SURVIVORS RETURN 63 



ii' 



I think they did marvelously well considering the short 
time they had to work in. They could not get a foothold on 
the sloping deck, and there was very little confusion under the 
circumstances." 



CHAPTER VI 

Heroes OF the Empress Disaster 

DR. GRANT THE CHIEF HERO — SIR SETON-KARR GAVE UP LIFE 
FOR STRANGER — ^LAURENCE IRVING DIED TRYING TO SAVE 
HIS WIFE — ^H. R. o'hARA DIED FOR FAMILY — CAPTAIN KENDALL 
SAVED BELL-BOY — ^HOW CHIEF OFFICER STEEDE DIED — 
HERO SAVED WEE GIRL — GAVE UP HIS LIFE-BELT. 

IN the luxurious Hotel Chateau Frontenac, in the seamen's 
mission, in the hospitals and on ships, where the survivors 
of the Empress of Ireland disaster were cared for and 
nursed, they spoke of their dangers. There were stories of 
seK-sacrifice where men died that women might live, of battles 
in the water, of life-boats falling on struggling men and women 
in the water. 

Every such disaster as that which befell the Empress of 
Ireland seems to bring out at least one man who stands out 
above aU others for coolness, resource, and courage. These 
are men who control mobs and who bring order out of chaos. 

DR. GRANT THE CHIEF HERO 

The survivors united in laying such honor on the shoulders 
of Dr. James F. Grant, a 1913 graduate of McGill, the ship's 

(64) 



HEROES OF THE EMPRESS DISASTER 65 

doctor, who calmed the terror-stricken, kept hope alive in the 
breasts of those who felt themselves bereaved of loved ones; 
who quieted the ravings of those whom the shock had, for a 
time, made insensible to those human attributes which make 
heroes; who went about among the rescued and gave them 
treatment, not only for their phj^sical injuries, but for the 
awful mental shocks which had been endured. 

Miss Grace Kohl, of Montreal, was among those who 
heralded the heroism of Dr. Grant. When she was asked 
to tell her story, she said: 

"Miss Brown, the stewardess, wakened me and helped 
me put on my shoes and coat and a life-belt. I went up on 
the promenade deck, but there was scarcely anyone there. 
Then the boat began to list in a really dangerous way, or so 
it seemed to me, and I jumped overboard. I swam around 
for about five minutes, and some one picked me up and placed 
me in a boat. That was all." 

''But there was something else," she continued. "You 
must say something very, very nice about Dr. Grant. He was 
quite wonderful. The way he took charge of things on the 
Storstad and controled the situation was marvelous. I 
think he deserved the thanks of every one, and there is no 
doubt but that for his skill and quickness in tending people, 
many more would have died." 

SIR SETON-KA.RR GAVE UP LIFE FOR STRANGER 

M. D. A. Darling, of Shanghai, was saved by the Ufe-belt 
that might have saved Sir Henry Seton-Karr. Darling said: 




66 HEROES OF THE EMPRESS DISASTER 

"My cabin was opposite Sir Henry's, and when I opened 
my door he opened his, and we bumped into each other in the 
passageway. He had a life-belt in his hand and I was empty- 
handed. Sir Henr}^ offered me the life-belt and I refused it. 

"He said, 'Go on, man, take it or I will try to get another 
man.' I told him to rush out himself and save his own life 
while I looked after myself. 

"Sir Henry then got angry and actually forced the life-belt 
over me. Then he pushed me along the corridor. I never saw 
him after that. He went back to his cabin, and I believe 
he never came out again, because the ship disappeared a few 
minutes later. 

"I owe the fact that I am alive to Sir Henry, and, while I 
believe he lost his life because he wanted to give me the life- 
belt, I am certain that he would have given it to some one 
else." 

LAURENCE IRVING DIED TO SAVE HIS WIFE 

Laurence Irving, the noted actor, son of the late Sir Henry 
Irving, died trying to save his wife. F. E. Abbott, of Toronto, 
was the last man to see Irving alive. 

"I met him first in the passageway," he said, "and he said 
calmly, 'Is the boat going down?' I said that it looked like it. 

" 'Dearie,' Irving then said to his wife, 'hurry, there is no 
time to lose.' Mrs. Irving began to cry, and, as the actor 
reached for a life-belt, the boat suddenly lurched forward and 
he was thrown against the door of his cabin. His face was 
bloody and Mrs. Irving became frantic. 'Keep cool,' he 



HEROES OF THE EMPRESS DISASTER 67 

warned her, but she persisted in holding her arms around 
him. He forced the life-belt over her and pushed her out of 
the door. He then practically carried her upstairs." 

Abbott said : "Can I help you?" and Irving said, ' Look after 
yourself first, old man, but God bless you all the same.' " 
Abbott left the two, man and wife, struggling. Abbott went 
on deck and dived overboard. He caught hold of a piece of 
timber, and holding on tight, he looked around. Irving by 
this time was on the deck. He was kissing his wife. And as 
the ship went down they were both clasped in each other's 
arms. 

H. K. o'hAEA died for FAMILY 

H. R. O'Hara, of Toronto, died that his wife and child might 
live. There were two life-belts for three of them. He fixed 
the belts on the two, hoping that there would be buoyancy 
enough to hold up all three. Not one of them could swim. 
O'Hara bobbed in the water, resting on the bdts to keep him- 
self afloat. He saw the two sinking, and then slipping a little 
behind them he disappeared beneath the water. Mrs. O'Hara 
was found afterward hysterically clinging to the keel of an 
overturned boat by Henry Freeman, of Wisconsin. 

CAPTAIN SAVED BELL-BOY 

Charles Spencer, a bell-boy on the Empress, told of the 
manner in which Captain Kendall of the Empress saved him. 
StiU hysterical from the suffering he endured, he cried as he 
told of his experiences. 



68 HEROES OF THE EMPRESS DISASTER 

''When the crash came I ran down to the steerage to wake 
up the boys there and get them to go to the bulkheads and 
turn them. They are closed by hand wheels. I did not have 
much time, because when I reached there the water was two 
feet deep and I could hardly get through it. I know two of 
the boys were drowned there. I and another, Samuel Baker, 
were the only bell-boys saved out of the dozen on the vessel. 
When I woke the boys below I ran to the boat deck where the 
men were trying to put the life-boats overboard. The Em- 
press had a list to starboard and the top deck was down to the 
water. She was going very fast. One of the funnels toppled 
into the water and almost fell on a life-boat. When the boat 
made a final lurch I dived into the water, because I felt I could 
get somewhere. When I came up Captain Kendall was near 
me. He caught hold of me and helped me along, and we were 
in the water about twenty minutes when we were picked up 
and taken to the coal boat." 

HOW CHIEF OFFICER STEEDE DIED 

''There are few people," said one survivor, "who really 
know how the chief officer, Mr. Steede, died. He was at his 
post to the last and was killed by tumbling wreckage. 

"Each man has his post at a certain boat, and his was at 
boat No. 8, on the port side. The ship was struck on the 
starboard, but an effort was made to launch the port side 
boats at once after the collision. But the list on the vessel 
made it impossible to get away these boats. 

"We went over to the port side. 'No good, boys, on this 



HEROES OF THE EMPRESS DISASTER 69 

side,' said he. 'Go to the starboard.' We went there, but 
the chief officer remained at No. 8, directing passengers, until 
he was swept from his post either by falling ropes, boxes or 
perhaps a boat, for the starboard boats broke loose and did a 
lot of damage to life. No one actually saw Steede disappear." 

HERO SAVED WEE GIRL 

The description of the wreck and the heart-rending scenes 
that followed, given by Robert W. Crellin, of Silverstone, 
British Columbia, was graphic. 

Crellin is a prosperous farmer. He was one of the heroes of 
the wreck. He saved Florence Barbour, the eight-year-old 
daughter of a neighbor, by swimming with the child on his 
back, and, with the aid of another rugged passenger, pulled two 
women and several men into a collapsible boat. 

Clad only in a night shirt, Crellin said the water and air 
were as cold as winter, chilling all hands to the bone. 

Despite the peril and exposure, flaxen-haired Florence Bar- 
bour clung to Crellin's neck and never even cried. 

"The child was pluckier than a stout man,'' said Crellin. 
"She never even whimpered, and complaint was out of the 
question. You should have seen how the girls and women in 
the little village of Rimouski hugged her when we got ashore. 

"Time and time again I feared Florence would lose her hold, 
and I would speak to her when my mouth and eyes were clear. 
Each time her little hands would clutch me tighter, until it 
seemed she'd stop my breath, but I welcomed the hold be- 
cause it showed she had the pluck and courage needed. 



HEROES OF THE EMPRESS DISASTER 



(C 



'Poor child! She lost her mother and sister, and only a 
year ago her father, William Barbour, of Silverstone, was 
killed. She's alone in the world, but Florence will never need 
a friend or home while I have breath in my body." 

Big and rugged as he is, Crellin's eyes grew moist as he 
recalled how the child's mother and three-year-old sister 
Evelyn were drowned. 

GAVE UP HIS LIFE-BELT 

A well-built young fellow, Kenneth Mclntyre, was disin- 
clined to go in the part he had played, but a Salvation Army 
officer, also a survivor, related how Mclntyre had taken his 
own life-belt off a few minutes before the Empress took her 
last plunge, and put it about a woman close by. The 
woman was picked up later by one of the life-boats. 



CHAPTER VII 

The Surgeon's Thrilling Story 

By Dr. James F. Grant 
Ship's Surgeon on the Empress of Ireland 

HAD DIFFICULTY REACHING DECK — MANY PLUNGE INTO ICY 
WATER — ^WEIRD SHRIEKS OF TERROR — PiiSSENGBRS CAUGHT 
LIKE RATS. 

I WAS in my cabin, and heard nothing until the boat 
listed so badly that I tumbled out of my berth and 
roUed under it. I concluded that something had gone 
wrong, and tried to turn on the light, but there was no 
power. I tried to find the door bolt, but the list was so 
strong that it took me considerable time to open the door. 

HAD DIFFICULTY REACHING DECK 

When I reached the alleyway it was so steep, due to the 
way the ship was canted, that my efforts to climb up were 
rendered impossible by the carpet, which I was clinging to, 
breaking away. I then scrambled up, and managed to get 
my head through a port-hole, but I was unable to get my 
shoulders through. At that time the ship was lying almost 
flat in the water on her starboard side, and a passenger who 

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72 THE SURGEON'S THRILLING STORY 

was standing on the plated side of the ship finally managed 
to pull me through the port-hole. 

About a hundred passengers were standing on the side 
of the ship at the time, and a moment after I had joined 
them the ship took another list and plunged to the bottom. 
I next found myself in the water, and swam towards the 
lights of the steamer Storstad, and when nearly exhausted 
from the struggle and the exposure I was picked up by a 
life-boat, which went on to the scene of the disaster, and 
was loaded with survivors, who were pulled out of the water 
and taken on board the Storstad. Then we were heated and 
wrapped in blankets, and I was provided with the clothes 
which I now wear, and which enabled me to do what I could 
to help the other survivors. 

MANY PLUNGE INTO ICY WATER 

There was no disorder among the crowd. The captain 
and other officers remained on the bridge until the vessel 
sank. It was just seventeen minutes from the time she 
was rammed until she sank below the surface. Compara- 
tively few were able to obtain life-boats, and practically were 
forced in their night attire into the icy water. 

Several hundred clung to the ship until she sank, holding 
to the rail until the vessel canted over so far that it was neces- 
sary to climb the rail and stand on the plates of the side. 
Then they would slide down into the water as she keeled over 
further as though they were walking down a sandy beach 
into the water to bathe. 




Photo by Bain News Service. 

CAPTAIN KENDALL 

The commander of the ill-fated ship. His reputation for seamanship 
and ability is unexcelled, and he stayed with his ship until the last, being 
thrown from the bridge as she turned over. Fortunately he was picked up 
by a life-boat from a piece of floating wreckage. 



THE SURGEON'S THRILLING STORY 73 

WEIRD SHRIEKS OF TERROR 

Then there were several hundred souls swimming around 
in the water screaming for help, shrieking as they felt them- 
selves being carried under, and uttering strange, weird moans 
of terror. 

The life-boats of the Storstad were launched and came 
rapidly to the rescue. One went back that was not well 
loaded. About five of the Empress' boats got away. 

PASSENGERS CAUGHT LIKE RATS 

The catastrophe was so sudden that scores never left their 
bunks. They were caught there like rats in a trap. Added 
to this was the fact that passengers had been on the ship only 
a day and were not familiar with their surroundings. 

In the confusion and the semi-panic, many could not 
find their way to the decks, and only a few knew where to 
reach the boat deck. This was largely responsible for the 
terrible toll of death. 

The survivors were taken on board the Storstad and the 
Lady Evelyn, which was summoned by wireless. There 
everything possible was done for them, but in at least five 
cases the shock and exposure were too severe. Four women 
perished after they reached the Storstad. In each case I 
was called and the unfortunates died before anything could 
be done. The last spark of energy had been exhausted. One 
other woman died just as she was being taken ashore. 



CHAPTER VIII 

Ship of Death Reaches Quebec 

the ghastly cargo — ^escorted by british cruiser essex — 
small white coffins — apathetic search for relatives 
and friends — ^wretched condition of bodies — ^lost 
his entire family — two claim same baby— "judgment 
of solomon" — ^bodies bruised and mutilated 

IN the fuU sunlight of a perfect summer day, with church 
bells chiming and people trooping to early Mass, the 
Government steamer Lady Grey slowly steamed into 
Quebec Sunday morning with the most ghastly cargo ever 
brought to that port — 188 coffined corpses of the victims from 
the Empress of Ireland wreck. 

In spite of every effort sufficient coffins could not be se- 
cured at Rimouski, and a score or more victims had to be 
brought in hastily constructed wooden boxes. The Lady 
Grey looked like a lumber vessel with a heavy deck load, every 
inch of deck space being covered with coffins of ail sorts piled 
three and four deep. 

ESCORTED BY BRITISH CRUISER ESSEX 

On her melancholy journey the Lady Grey was escorted by 
the British cruiser Essex, which had been cruising 348 miles 

(74) 



SHIP OF DEATH REACHES QUEBEC 75 

below Quebec, and received a wireless order from the Admi- 
ralty to make all speed to the scene of the collision and 
render every possible assistance. 

The Lady Grey at five minutes past eight proceeded to pier 
No. 27, v/here the huge shed was transformed into a mortuary 
chamber. The entrance was draped with black and purple, 
while inside three long counters had been constructed to 
accommodate the bodies. 

As the Lady Grey drew up with the Union Jack half-masted 
at the stern, her bulwarks were lined with a hundred blue- 
jackets and marines from the Essex, under Commander 
Tweedie, who had been detailed to remove the coffins from the 
death ship. This was most fortunate, for the British seamen 
not only lent the necessary touch of dignity to the scene, as 
without a word and scarcely a sound they carried the dread- 
fully long row of bodies ashore, but they did the workwithmost 
impressive skill. The men were evidently weighted with this 
terrible illustration of the dangers of the sea, and worked with 
solemn intentness during the long hour and a quarter it took 
to get the dread cargo from the Lady Grey. 

Inside all was gloom, tears and death, while outside the 
sun shone gloriously as the marines continued at their task, 
the silence only broken by the busy clicking of moving-picture 
machines and the snapping of many cameras. The arrival 
of the corpse-laden vessel had driven home the whole horror 
of the catastrophe, and people moved around on tiptoes, talk- 
ing in hushed whispers as the place became more and more 
populous with its load of coffins. 



76 SHIP OF DEATH REACHES QUEBEC 

SMALL WHITE COFFINS 

When a group of marines passed by, each carrying a tiny 
white coffin, the strain became too much, and many men were 
moved to tears, while the few women present were openly 
crying. One little coffin opened, disclosing a beautiful baby 
girl of about four, with golden curls clustering around her 
ears, looking as though happily asleep — stark naked. Even 
hardened newspapermen were overcome at the sight. 

Dead silence reigned as the slow minutes went by, each 
recording the advent of the marines' load of horror, until the 
long counters were filled and the last score of bodies had to be 
laid on the floor. 

PATHETIC SEARCH FOR RELATIVES AND FRIENDS 

At the heads of the lines of coffins stood anxious men and 
women, many of them survivors, looking for relatives and 
friends. Each coffin lid was lifted by one of the searchers 
while others crowded close to get a glimpse at the body inside. 
The Ime moved constantly. One lid would be dropped with 
a low toned ^'No" and the searcher would raise the lid of the 
next coffin, just dropped by the person ahead. 

Occasionally a low moan of a man or the muffled scream 
of a woman broke the silence. ' ' Oh, Mary ! " " My husband !" 
or some name of endearment was uttered. 

One particularly pathetic figure was an elderly Australian 
named Byrne, who had after years of saving started out with 
his wife and daughter on a tour of the world. He had been 
saved, but both wife and daughter had met their death. He 



SHIP OF DEATH REACHES QUEBEC 77 

seemed too overcome even to realize his loss, and rambled 
about, aimlessly looking at the tagged numbers on the coflGlns 
and muttering: "Would to God I had gone with them." 
Their bodies were not found in the list. 

Another old man sat beside the cofl&ns silently weeping, 
and asked all he met if they would not get him a newspaper 
so that he might find what had become of his family. 

WRETCHED CONDITION OF BODIES 

Some few of the bodies had been prepared for burial at 
Rimouski, but so great was the work that most of them had 
to be put in the cofl&ns as they were found, the women in 
shreds of clothing, some absolutely naked, as were most of the 
children, with anything available wrapped over them, while 
most of the men were in trousers and undershirts. Every 
xmdertaker in Quebec and Point Levis had been engaged by 
the Canadian Pacific Railroad with instructions to embalm 
all the bodies and prepare them for burial. Each body was 
also photographed for its identification. 

Many of the coflSns were of the crudest make; some had 
this inscription: ''Ne pleurez pas sur moi!" (Do not shed 
tears over me), but as the sailors arranged the cofl&ns and 
the marines took their station tears were visible in the eyes 
of many. Cofl&n No. 1 had a card bearing these words: 
"Woman on bottom, baby on top." There were two in 
the coflSn. The only other writing on the boxes were words 
indicating that within were "fiUe," "fils," "femme" or 
"homme." With the bodies were in some instances the 



78 SHIP OF DEATH REACHES QUEBEC 

articles found on them, such as watches, pocket-books con- 
taining money, letters or other things that might help in the 
identification. 

Solemnly the search continued. A man v/ould find the 
bodies of his wife and children. A woman would identify the 
body of her husband. In the hunt for bodies of the victims 
there was no distinction of class. Every person, whether 
finely dressed or roughly clad, took his turn in the line that 
moved constantly from coffin to coffin. The great majority 
of persons, however, were disappointed in their search. 

LOST HIS ENTIRE FAMILY 

At times a frantic man would hurry from cofl&n to coJBSn 
looking over the shoulders of persons near it and trying to sat- 
isfy himself by a quick glance that the body was not that of 
the loved one — ^most of the bodies were so marred that quick 
identification was impossible — and then dash to the next. 
The most pathetic is the experience of C. W. Cullen, a candy 
merchant of Montreal, who had sent his wife, two children 
and a maid, Jennie Blythe, on the Empress of Ireland for a 
summer trip to England. The maid alone survived. 

CuUen ran from one coffin to another looking for his wife, 
but in vain. Then he turned to gaze on the coffins of children. 
He quickly found the body of his daughter, Maude, six years 
old, who in the excitement following the collision had been 
seized by the mother. The search among the babies ranging 
from twelve months to three years then went on. Some of the 
babies lying in the coffins looked as if they were asleep, with 



SHIP OF DEATH REACHES QUEBEC 79 

their hair curled or ruffled by a light breeze. Others had 
bruised foreheads, suggesting vividly how they had been 
hurtled against stanchions or the sides of their cabins and 
killed before the water came upon them. The legs and arms 
of others were cut and bruised terribly. Upon the little ones 
CuUen gazed and ifinally picked out one baby with blond hair. 
He turned to Canon Scott, rector of St. Matthew's Episco- 
pal Church, and said : 

"That is my boy." Then Cullen turned again to search 
through the bodies of the adults for his wife. 

TWO CLAIM SAME BABY 

Scarcely had he turned away when T, H. Archer, who 
had lost wife and baby in the wreck and had escaped him- 
self, began to study the faces of the babies. He had 
found the body of a woman that he supposed to be his 
wife. He came upon the body of a child marked No. 118, 
which had been identified only a few minutes before by 
Cullen as the body of his baby. Archer insisted that the 
body was that of his baby Alfred. He was told that Cullen 
had decided that the boy was his own child. 

The two men were brought together by Canon Scott. Both 
were gracious and affable and both consented to study the 
features of the face again. A police officer lifted up the coffin 
in his arms and held it while the two men scanned the face of 
the child. Cullen decided he would go and get the maid. He 
disappeared. Then Archer asked the officer to carry the baby 
to a window, where he looked again at the face of the baby. 



80 SHIP OF DEATH REACHES QUEBEC 

He wanted to see the knee of the baby, but that was so bruised 
and discolored that the little knee proved no help. He in- 
sisted, however, that the baby was his and accompanied by 
the clergyman he took it back to Coroner G. Will Jolicceur 
and had the child registered as his. Canon Scott, feeling that 
there might be a mistake, counseled the man to make a study 
of the features of his wife and compare them with those of the 
child. Archer consented to do so. While that was going on 
Cullen returned with the maid, who, after a quick glance, 
agreed that the baby belonged to Cullen. Each bereaved 
father clung to the belief that the child was his. 

"judgment of Solomon" 

There came a deadlock and finally some one suggested that 
the decision be left to Mayor Napoleon Drouin of Quebec. 
The mayor was called and each father presented what he con- 
sidered proof that the child belonged to him. The mayor, 
however, after a study of the features of Mrs. Archer and those 
of the child, decided that the baby was not the Archer child, 
and he finally awarded the baby to Cullen. 

While the controversy between Cullen and Archer was going 
on a woman attired in clothes of coarse texture wandered past 
the bodies of the children, stopping to lift up the coffin lids and 
gaze tenderly on the little faces. She was a survivor and was 
looking for the baby that had been torn from her arms. 

One child with dark hair and features of a cherub, bearing 
many bruises, attracted her attention. She believed the baby 
was hers, but she was not sure. ''My child," she said, "has 



SHIP OF DEATH REACHES QUEBEC 81 

one tooth on the right side." Bending over she reverently 
opened the mouth of the tot and then a moan escaped her. 
"It's mine/' she whispered, and untied a black baby ribbon 
that ran around the neck. Weeping she was helped to the 
office of the coroner, where she obtained a burial certificate and 
received permission to have the body shipped to her home. 

BODIES BRUISED AND MUTILATED 

Many similar tragic incidents were enacted in the course of 
the day, and by nightfall there were twelve other bodies of 
which identifications were made but of which the relatives 
were not sure because of the bruised and mutilated condition 
of the bodies. 

A glance at the corpses taken in a walk along the line 
revealed the story of the collision and the incidents following. 
Almost all bore marks of violence inflicted by contact with 
parts of the wrecked ship or in struggles in the water. There 
were bodies of women whose heads were split open or gashed. 
It is possible that women running from their staterooms in 
the darkness following the collision ran against stanchions or 
were hurled against the walls of the sides of the corridors. 
The wounds also indicated that some of the women had been 
crushed when the collier buried her steel nose in the side of 
the Empress. 

Officials in Rimouski have said also that the bodies of the 
women showed that several of them had been stabbed, that 
bodies of men had been found with knives in their hands. 
At any rate, it was apparent by a glance at the shrouds that 



82 SHIP OF DEATH REACHES QUEBEC 

had been placed on the bodies of both men and women that 
there were other wounds not disclosed on the faces. 

In addition to the bodies received in Quebec, a number had 
been identified at Rimouski and shipped to the homes of rela- 
tives. If the Empress is raised many other bodies trapped in 
their staterooms will probably be obtained. 

The bodies which were not identified in Quebec on Sunday 
were embalmed and kept for a few days longer. Then they 
were photographed by representatives of the Canadian Pacific 
and buried in graves marked "unknown." 



CHAPTER IX 

Solemn Sekvices for the Dead 

memorial services throughout canada — trust in god — 
at st. james' cathedral — ^rabbi jacobs' tribute — 
whole city honored the army dead — services in 
thirty-four languages 

IN every church in Canada, Protestant, Catholic, and 
Jewish alike, reference was made on Sunday, May 31st, 
to the disaster that had at one blow bereaved hundreds of 
Canadian homes. Many congregations had suffered to the 
extent of losing one or more of their members, and these held 
memorial services of an impressive character. The first news 
of the sinking of the Empress came with such suddenness that 
few people were at once able to appreciate the appalling nature 
of the tragedy. But by Sunday, when the full significance 
had impressed itseK upon them, the effect was apparent. 
An air of sadness filled the churches, and the faces of those 
in the congregations were grave and drawn. Outside, scores 
of flags floating at half-mast bore mute testimony to the 
catastrophe. 

TRUST IN GOD 

Rey. Dr. W. G. Wallace, of the Bloor Street Presbyterian 
Church, made reference to the tragedy as a preface to his ser- 

(83) 



84 SOLEMN SERVICES FOR THE DEAD 

mon. "Our spirits are hurt and our hearts are sore," he said, 
"in the presence of the great bereavement that has come with 
such tragic suddenness to thousands of our fellow-Canadians." 

Rev. J. W. Aikens, of the Metropolitan Methodist Church, 
said : " There is a mystery in the relation of God to happenings 
such as this disaster. We cannot understand His relation 
to them, but there are some things which He permits but does 
not cause." 

Rev. Dr. W. F. Wilson, of the Elm Street Methodist Church, 
said: ''Man, with all his imperial power of mind and genius, 
must sooner or later learn the great laws of nature. They are 
fixed and irrevocable." 

Rev. T. T. Shields, at Jarvis Street Baptist Church, made a 
touching reference to the disaster, seeking to show that such 
occurrences have an object. "Sometimes," he said, "the 
newsboy is a better preacher than the minister." 

At St. Paul's Church, Bloor Street, Archdeacon Cody 
devoted his sermon to the loss of the Empress. He made 
particular reference to the death of Mr. H. R. O'Hara, who was 
one of the sidesmen at St. Paul's, speaking of his connection 
with the church and of his life in the community. Special 
music was rendered, including the Dead March from "Saul." 

AT ST. JAMES' CATHEDRAL 

Rev. Canon Plumptre preached at St. James' Cathedral 
from the text, "Ye shall receive power when the Holy Ghost 
is come upon you, and ye shall be my witnesses." With refer- 
ence to the disaster in the St. Lawrence, he said the collect for 



SOLEMN SERVICES FOR THE DEAD 85 

Whitsunday struck exactly the note desired. He said that in 
our perplexities and bewilderment at the ways of God we 
should rest assured that He would "give right judgment in 
all things," and prayed that the bereaved might be given grace 
to "rejoice in His holy comfort." Canon Plumptre spoke of 
the comfort in the memory of lives consecrated to the service 
of God and fellow-men and of the acts of heroism that had 
illumined the darkness of the night. "Whether death comes 
to us," the preacher concluded, "as a lightning stroke in the 
darkness or amid the calm of a peaceful destiny, may it be 
said, 'We died like men and fell like one of the princes.' " 

RABBI JACOBS' TRIBUTE 

"It is with difficulty," said Rabbi Jacobs, of the Holy 
Blossom Synagogue, "that I can trust myself to speak on that 
sad calamity which has touched the heart of Canada and other 
parts of the civilized world so deeply in the past two days. 
Ah, it is such blows as these which teach us how fleeting is 
all human existence, how uncertain the span of life, how our 
earthly days are measured, our only hope in God. May this 
sad event remind us of the uncertainty of life and stir us all 
to a greater sense of our duty to the Great Creator and to each 
other. Events such as this have a great spiritual purpose to 
accomplish. They show how weak, how imstable, all our 
calculations are — ^how man proposes, but God disposes. May 
the Lord take into His safe-keeping the souls of the departed." 

Throughout the churches of England and America similar 
references were made to the catastrophe that carried so many 



86 SOLEMN SERVICES FOR THE DEAD 

souls swiftly to their doom and sympathy expressed for those 
who had suffered the loss of dear ones. To the bereaved 
Salvation Army especially was a wealth of Christian love and 
fellowship extended. 



WHOLE CITY HONORED THE ARMY DEAD 

With the heavily draped standards of their late corps 
massed before, and amid the solemn notes of the funeral 
dirge, the dead of the Salvation Army were on the following 
Saturday borne in melancholy state through the streets 
of Toronto to their final resting place in Mount Pleasant 
Cemetery. The procession followed an impressive and soul- 
stirring service in the Arena, attended by a sorrowing multi- 
tude which crowded the vast building to its utmost. The 
service was under the direction of Colonel Gaskin and Com- 
missioner McKie, successor to Commissioner Rees. Lying 
in heavily-draped caskets, covered with the world-renowned 
colors of the Army, emblazoned with the motto, "Blood and 
Fire," and surrounded with handsome wreaths, tokens of 
love and esteem sent by sorrowing comrades and friends, 
the bodies lay in state in the Arena. The mute evidence of 
the terrible disaster which had overtaken the Army on the 
"Black Friday" of the week before, when the Empress of 
Ireland was swept beneath the waters of the St. Lawrence 
River, drew a vast concourse of people. 

Long before the service commenced the streets were lined 
with the grief-stricken citizens who desired to pay their last 



SOLEMN SERVICES FOR THE DEAD 87 

respects to those silent Soldiers of the Cross. With sorrow- 
ing faces and tear-glistening eyes they reverently passed 
through the heavy banks of floral tributes encasing the cata- 
falque, on which rested the caskets in three long rows, and 
gazed for the last time upon the still forms of the sixteen 
victims who had done so much for the uplift of humanity in 
the city and whose labors were so suddenly ended. 

A STRIKING SERVICE 

The most striking feature of the service was its wonderful 
revelation of the common brotherhood of humanity. In 
the face of the great calamity which had befallen the Army, 
men of every religious denomination and every sphere of life 
were present to bow their heads in humble submission to the 
will of the Almighty Father. A still stronger and deeper 
note was struck by two of the survivors of the disaster, who, 
in simple, eloquent words, brought home to all anew the 
great truth of the Resurrection. The wonderful sustaining 
power of Christianity, they said, was shown in the early 
morning hours when the vessel sank, and when the sudden 
call came none was afraid to answer the summons. They 
knew that it was a call to Glory! 

Although a pitifully small remnant of the Army dead 
had been recovered, the service was also an affectionate and 
reverent memorial for the great majority whose remains 
still lay engulfed in the St. Lawrence River. Many were the 
sorrowing tributes paid by the speakers to those missing 
comrades and friends, and deep regrets were voiced that the 



88 SOLEMN SERVICES FOR THE DEAD 

waters had not given them up so that they might lie in state 
beside the silent forms with whom they had in former days 
toiled together to accomplish God's work. 

MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY 

The sorrow which the great tragedy had aroused through- 
out the entire Army world was made public by Commissioner 
McKie, who read numerous telegrams from Army officers 
in the furthermost corners of the world, from Japan and 
India, from Australasia and Africa, and from Northern and 
Southern Europe. 

In an eloquent address the Commissioner paid a tribute 
to his dead comrades on behalf of the General and of the 
British corps. ''At this moment I stand before you as the 
representative of General Booth and Mrs. Booth," he said, 
"to express for them and for all our comrades their deepest 
sjnnpathy for you in this your great hour of sorrow. 

"I should also like to say a few passing words about those 
whose remains lie in our midst, and to assure the bereaved 
relatives and friends that the sorrow is international. In 
the death of Mrs. Commissioner Rees we have lost a good 
worker, and the loss is a heavy one. Mrs. Rees was a good 
mother and helpmeet to her husband. I cannot speak of her 
without making a reference to the Commissioner. Great 
as is our sorrow at his being called home, and heavy as we will 
feel his loss, it would be a source of great consolation to us 
if we but had his remains with us to lay beside those of his 
brave wife." 



SOLEMN SERVICES FOR THE DEAD 89 

With the conclusion of the service the massed militia bands, 
under the conductorship of Lieutenant Slatter, of the Forty- 
eighth Highlanders, began to play Chopin's ''Funeral March," 
and the sad duty of removing the caskets to the funeral vans 
commenced. Between the long rows of mourners the pall- 
bearers silently passed with their mournful burdens, while 
the drawn faces and dimmed eyes spoke eloquently of the 
pangs suffered as the remains of their loved ones passed from 
their sight forever. It was a moment filled with the tense 
current of emotion — a moment as impressive as any that has 
followed the tragic Empress disaster. 

IMPRESSIVE PROCESSION 

Headed with the heavily white-draped standards of the 
Army from all the city corps, at the slow march, and followed 
by the first section of the massed bands playing the "Dead 
March," the cortege presented a melancholy and impressive 
sight. The funeral cars, draped heavily with crepe and pur- 
ple, and each drawn by four black horses caparisoned with 
black and purple trappings, and each led by an attendant, 
were preceded by two draped cars heavily laden with the 
beautiful floral tributes. Behind came the mourners and 
further in the procession the survivors, many of whom came 
from sick beds to attend the service, while at the rear walked 
the lodges, the massed military bands and the various repre- 
sentatives of the local militia in full regimentals. The pro- 
cession was one of the largest known in the city, almost 
6,000 marching. 



90 SOLEMN SERVICES FOR THE DEAD 

PEOPLE LIKED STREETS 

Tens of thousands of citizens lined the streets to witness 
the passing of the funeral cortege. The crowd was densest 
on Yonge Street, both sides of the thoroughfare from Wilton 
Avenue to the cemetery gates, a distance of three miles, 
being crowded with humanity of every nationality. As the 
remains of the unfortunate victims were borne past on the 
heavily-draped drays, every man bared his head in solemn 
reverence, while hundreds of women were observed wiping 
their stained eyes. There was a solemn silence that seemed 
strange at such an hour of the busiest day of the week. 

SERVICES IN THIRTY-POUR LANGUAGES 

On the following Sunday in sixty-nine countries and colonies 
the world over two hundred thousand soldiers of the Salvation 
Army, speaking thirty-four different languages, conducted 
impressive memorial services in honor of those of the Empress 
dead who belonged to that organization. It is estimated that 
upwards of 2,700,000 people gathered in all the citadels and 
buildings of the Army to mourn for the one hundred and 
thirty-eight of the Army that went beneath the waves in the 
St. Lawrence. 

In a special memorial service held in Albert Hall, London, 
General Booth paid special tribute to those who had per- 
ished for their lives of service to the cause and for the many 
sacrifices they had made. Their trials were now over, their 
warfare had ceased, he said, and victory was theirs. He 
spoke in highest terms of Commissioner Rees and of Colonel 



SOLEMN SERVICES FOR THE DEAD 91 

and Mrs. Maidment. While the Army had been deprived of 
some of its most valuable officers, and while he, above all 
others, felt the great blow, yet there seemed no limit to the 
evidences that good fruit would follow from the sorrowful 
trial. 



CHAPTER X 

Crippling Loss to Salvation Army 

joy of farewell service turned to grief — scenes at 
headquarters as sad news came — ^reunions that failed 
—heart-breaking return of the few— reverent crowds 
waiting — ^ensign pugmire^s story — story of bandsman 

GREEN — "in god's HANDS " — ^REDEDICATION TO WORK — 
SALVATIONISTS BRAVE TO THE END — ^MAJOR ATWELL's EX- 
PERIENCE — SUNDAY SERVICES IN TORONTO — ^FLOWER OF 
ARMY AMONG THE LOST — ^HUNDREDS SAIL ON OLYMPIC — 
LOSS TO ARMY IN CANADA. 

ON the night before the Empress of Ireland sailed for 
the last time from Quebec a thousand people thronged 
the body of the spacious hall in the Salvation Army 
Temple in Toronto. Before them, ranged in tiers on the 
platform, sat almost a hundred men and women, their hearts 
beating high with the supreme happiness of meeting loved 
ones in the home land. They were the envied of all. Not a 
soul of the thousand friends but wished himself in their place, 
but longed to join them on their trip to the International 
Congress in London. 

The service was arranged as a farewell — ^for a short space. 
And none dreamed that the chasm of eternity yawned between 

C92) 



CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 93 

the last sad parting and a meeting that will never take place 
on this side of the g^-ave. That little uniformed band had done 
their work; Toronto would know them no more. 

"God be with you till we meet again/' sang the throng of 
spectators, and the Staff and Temple Bands tuned their 
instruments to the refrain. As the strains of the solemn 
melody died away, the last note was sounded that man will 
ever hear played by those devoted men. 

SCENES AT HEADQUARTERS AS SAD NEWS CAME 

Another crowd thronged the Temple two days later — an 
anxious, fear-haunted crowd, awed into an ominous silence 
by the dreadful news of the loss of the Empress of Ireland. 
Round the doors the press of men and women blocked the 
street, each anxious to catch a glimpse of the bulletins posted 
up every few minutes. 

Colonel Rees, who was temporarily head of the Army in 
Canada, paced the room with hasty steps. His eyes were 
dim with tears, and his voice trembled slightly as he said: 
''This suspense is the worst of all. We can only wait and 
pray till the news comes." The other officers were holding 
themselves well in hand, but the atmosphere was one of tense 
anxiety and unrelieved strain. 

"It is terrible; we are almost driven distracted," declared 
Major McGillivray, who was left in charge of the inmaigration 
department. "It does not seem possible that it can be true. 
AQ our best men in the Dominion were on board that vessel, 
and it does not seem possible that they can be drowned." 



94 CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION AHMY 

At first the messages delivered to the waiting crowd were 
hopeful; then one came saying that all the passengers were 
saved. As its purport became known a wave of combined 
relief and thankfulness swept the crowds. A sigh went up, 
a sigh which breathed aloud the inward, pent-up feelings of 
the palpitating hearts of men and women. Many sank on 
their knees and with bared heads poured out their thanks 
to God. 

But the report was only the preliminary to a more cruel 
blow, for scarcely had they risen to their feet when the crushing 
news of the loss of nearly the whole ship's complement stared 
at them from the bulletin boards. 

Inside the building deeper feelings were stirred. There 
sat those whose nearest and dearest lay sunk in a watery grave. 
Dry-eyed, silent, hoping against hope, they sat — young, 
fresh maidens, round whose grief-stricken faces the Army 
bonnet threw a shadow of gathering sadness, young men, 
buoyed up only by physical strength, and old men with dra^Mi 
faces and aureoles of snow-white hair. Silent as ghosts, the 
stream of humanity, picking its way around them, passed 
unnoticed. 

REUNIONS THAT FAILED 

One of the saddest features of the wreck and its dreadful 
loss is the number of men and women, separated from their 
family for many years, who sailed in the confident hope of 
uniting long-broken family ties. 

Other shattered ties swelled the burden of grief. Commander 



CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 95 

David M. Rees, with his wife, two daughters and son perished 
with over one hundred others — ^the very flower of the Salvation 
Army in Canada. 

One sobbing girl said the most distressing thing to her was 
the number lost who were looking forward to seeing their 
parents. ^^They left them years ago," she said, "to work in 
Canada, and just when their reunion seemed assured death 
severed them forever." 

Two newly-married couples belonging to the Salvation 
Army were on the Empress of Ireland. They were Captain 
and Mrs. E. J. Dodd and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Greenaway, 
all of Toronto. 

"It is a horrible honeymoon," said a Salvation Army officer 
as the list of the Army people on board was eagerly scanned 
at the Army headquarters. 

HEAET-BREAKING RETURN OF THE FEW 

A small group of survivors, including Major and Mrs. 
AtweU, Staff Captain McAmmond and Ensign Pugmire 
reached Toronto on Saturday. When seen by a party of 
reporters who met the train at Atha Road Station, twenty-five 
miles east of the city, some of the party were just finishing 
dinner, others were sitting about in listless attitudes, while 
evidences of their recent terrible experiences were clearly 
marked on the faces of all. 

They were met at Locust Hill Station by some of their 
friends, and it was then that deep emotion stirred the little 
band. A silent hand-clasp was aU the greeting that passed 



96 CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 

between survivors and friends for some moments; then came 
a half-whispered inquiry about some friend, often receiving 
for reply only a wistful shake of the head. 

Mr. Aldridge, whose brother, Mr. Ernest Aldridge, was lost, 
speaking to Major George Atwell, asked in a low voice: 

'^ Did you see Ernie?" 

'^I never saw him," replied Major Atwell. 

The bereaved brother, without a word, turned aside to hide 
the strong emotion that the simple words aroused in him. 
Similar scenes took place in various parts of the car, until 
gradually a natural conversation about the wreck was in 
progress. 

KEVERENT CROWDS WAITING 

An enormous crowd surrounded the Union Station long 
before the train arrived, those who were unable to gain admis- 
sion crowding the streets outside and lining the sidewalks 
along Front Street. The platforms swarmed with hundreds 
of friends of the returning Salvationists and others, the Army 
uniform dotting the crowd here and there. 

When the train drew up a feeble cheer, dying almost as 
soon as it began, was heard, and then a hush fell on aU, un- 
broken till the first survivor appeared on the steps. One by 
one the little band stepped down, to be instantly surrounded 
by friends and relatives. 

The meeting was a profoundly touching one. Hardly a 
word was spoken, for the sight of familiar faces revived too 
keenly the memory of those who stood on the same spot but a 



CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 97 

few days before. Little groups of Army girls moved about, 
many of them weeping silently. 

Just before the survivors walked out, the crowd parted 
to make way for the truck bearing a dead body. As it 
passed out the entire body of Salvationists uncovered and 
sang the hymn, ''O God, our help in ages past." The 
effect on the listening spectators was marked by the hush 
which followed. 

Several automobiles were in waiting outside and the sur- 
vivors were quickly placed in these and driven off. 

ENSIGN PUGMIRE S STORY 

Ensign Pugmire, connected with the financial department 
in Toronto, calmly told the tale of his survival to the tearful 
friends who asked for last tidings of their beloved Commissioner 
Rees. In describing his impressions more in detail. Ensign 
Pugmire said that there was no shock at the time of the 
collision. 

*'I heard a grazing sound as if we were touching a berg," 
he said, "and as the sound continued I went up on deck, 
curious to see what was wrong. I never got back to my 
cabin. The life-belts were all there. The ship was already 
listing over dangerously. It was all the work of a moment. 

"Yes, there were a number of passengers on deck with me 
at the time, but when I looked over my shoulder as I grabbed 
the rail, I could see the gangways jammed with people. I 
passed Major Simcoe's berth going up and asked her if she 
was not coming. She told me to leave her and find out what 

7 



98 CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 

the matter was. Her body was among the first picked up on 
shore. 

" Shouting? None at all. Every one was orderly and quiet. 
No one had time to realize what was going on. We could not 
launch the boats because we could hardly stand up, so heavy 
did the list become. We had to take the side, and only the 
swimmers like myself are left of those who went over with me. 

"I saw Commissioner Rees when he ran back to get his wife. 
Major Frank Morris tried hard to save him, for he carried him 
on his shoulders as long as he could. Morris was a hero. 

"There was an explosion just as the ship went down, and 
that must have killed hundreds outright. The shock of it 
blew Morris right overboard. Morris' arm was badly scalded 
with the steam. 

"We saw the ship heeling over when we were in the water, 
but there was no outcry until she had disappeared. The 
swimmers then shouted to attract the life-boat that was 
already coming. My comrades died like Salvationists.'* 

STORY OF BANDSMAN GREEN 

The satisfaction of Bandsman Gneen of the Salvation Army 
in finding himself alive and without a scratch was darkly 
clouded by the loss of his father, Adjutant Green, his mother 
and his sister Jessie. 

"It was not a great blow we felt," he volunteered. "Just 
a little jar. You could not say that it was severe, not enough 
to throw you against the side of your bunk, for instance. 
But we guessed when the engines stopped and then began to 



CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 99 

go again fast, that something had happened. I tell you that 
to get out was like climbing up a straight wall, the Empress 
Usted so. 

"And then, when she sank, I could think of nothing but a 
village suddenly flooded and aU the people floating in the 
water. It was awful to see those faces bobbing up and down 
with the ship gone underneath and only water. 

"But a wonderful thing happened. You know it is not 
light at that time in the morning and when we were thrown out 
it was quite dark. But all of a sudden it got Hght very quickly 
and we could see well. That was wonderful!" — ^the voice 
softened into reverence — "like Providence, as I don't believe 
it usually gets light as early. 

"in god's hands" 

"When I last saw my father, he said, 'Well, boy, we are in 
God's hands'; and I said, 'Yes, father.' In a second I was 
parted from aU forever. They were aU standing together, my 
father and my mother and my sister Jessie. 

"I must say that all, or nearly all, the men behaved like 
men and all the women like women." 

"Was there great panic?" he was asked. 

"No," he replied. "It was surprising how little panic 
there was. They were all so gritty. You saw men and their 
wives being saved together, or standing to die together. 
Many did not part. And the Salvationists stood up and sang 
'God be with you till we meet again,' as long as they could. 
I did see one man in the water try to push into a life-boat 



100 CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 



HYMN THE SALVATIONISTS SANG WHILE THE EMPRESS 
OF IRELAND WAS SINKING 

God be with you till we meet again! 
By His counsels guide, uphold you, 
With His sheep securely fold you, 
God be with you till we meet again! 

CHORUS 

Till we meet, till we meet, 

Till we meet at Jesu's feet; 

Till we meet, till we meet, 

God be with you till we meet agaiu. 

God be with you till we meet again! 
'Neath His wings securely hide you, 
Daily manna still provide you; 
God be with you till we meet again! 

God be with you till we meet again! 
When life's perils thick confound you. 
Put His loving arms around you, 
God be with you till we meet again! 

God be with you till we meet again! 
Keep love's banner floating o'er you; 
Smite death's threatening wave before you; 
God be with you till we meet again! 

—J. E. Rankin, D.D. 



CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 101 

ahead of a woman, but another struck him in the face and 
sent him back. I did hear, too, that there were other cases 
of this kind, but not many, and I didn't see them. The only 
real panic was among the foreigners. Most of the others were 
very calm." 

RE-DEDICATION TO WORK 

To a running accompaniment of half smothered ejaculations, 
Kenneth Mclntyre, a member of the Salvation Army, in 
New York on the following Sunday told of the way in which, 
while swimming for his life in the icy waters of the St. 
Lawrence River, he had re-dedicated himself to work for his 
Maker and his organization. 

"God bless you," "The Lord be praised," "Thy wiU be 
done," in women's voices full of emotion would be answered 
by "Amen" in the deeper bass of some of the men officers. 
For the greater part of the time Mr. Mclntyre's audience 
hung breathless on his words. 

Mr. Mclntyre was the first survivor from the Empress of 
Ireland disaster to arrive in New York City. He was a 
member of the Canadian staff band of the Salvation Army. 

He was telling some of his experiences and some of his 
thoughts at a meeting of members of the Salvation Army, 
at the organization's headquarters, No. 120 West Fourteenth 
Street. Mr. Mclntyre is well known among Salvationists. 
His father. Colonel William A. Mclntyre, is one of the leading 
officers in the Salvation Army in New York. Mr. Mclntyre 
himself has been active in the movement for many years 



102 CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 

and joined the Canadian staff band in the autumn of 1913, 
when he went to take up electrical work in Toronto. 

''When I was nine years old, in Boston, I was at death's 
door for months," he said. **My father and mother never 
expected that I could live, but in their prayers they said to 
God that they were resigned and were willing that His will 
should be done. If there was something in store for me, 
they told Him, they hoped that I might be spared. 

"While I was swimming in the water I thought of this again, 
and I said practically the same thing my father and mother 
had said. Now that I am here and alive and comparatively 
well I want to repeat to you my pledge that I wiU devote 
myseK and my life to God's work. 

"Somehow or other when I was on the ship I didn't pray. 
I don't know whether I hadn't time or whether I didn't think 
of it. It's always the other ship that's going down. You 
never think that the one you're on will sink. 

SALVATIONISTS BRAVE TO THE END 

"Those of the Salvation Army who reached the deck after 
the collision made no outcries," he said. "None of them 
seemed afraid, and I heard only a low moan from one woman. 
There was no trampling of children on the part of any one 
on the ship that I saw. Of course, in the rush to the deck 
every one wanted to get up, but many helped others on the 
way. There was no great excitement. 

"We didn't know for hours after the wreck how many of 
our party had been saved. All I had on when I reached the 



CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 103 

rescue ship was an undershirt and a piece of canvas, and I 
didn't have the latter until some hours after the accident. 
One of our men was upon two different pieces of wreckage 
before being picked up by a boat. One woman, Mrs. Greena- 
way, on being pulled into a boat exclaimed, 'Why did you save 
me? Tom is gone!' When she was taken to shore she found 
that Tom had been saved. Husband and wife were reunited. 
Tom Greenaway had sent her up to the deck and waited to 
dress. When h6 got on deck he could not find his wife, and 
thinking she was dead said, 'I don't want to live.' He clung 
to the railing as the ship went down. The water tore him 
loose and he rose to the surface. A table floated under him. 
Thinking it was not intended he should die he hung on and 
was picked up to find that his wife Margaret had also been 
saved. 

MAJOR ATWELL's EXPERIENCE 

"Major Atwell hunted for a life-perserver for his wife and 
finally found one in a life-boat that was out of commission. 
He strapped it around her and then went to look for something 
for himseK. He found a water cask, emptied the water out 
and clung to it as he and his wife went overboard. The waves 
tore the cask away from him and he, with his wife near, went 
under three times. On the third rising he found somebody's 
air cushion in his hands. It saved his life. 

"As I swam away from the ship I heard him calling as he and 
his wife floated in the water. I thought he was sinking and 
said to myself, 'There goes poor Major Atwell.' When he 



104 CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 

had seen me^ go over the side he had said, ' There goes poor 
Kenneth.' I swam a mile and a half before being picked up. 
"Bert Greenaway, one of the bandsmen, had taken time 
to put on his trousers and a sweater and tennis shoes. He put 
the sweater on a woman on deck. He couldn't swim ten 
strokes, he told me. He slid down over the side of the ship 
into a life-boat, being saved without even getting wet or his 
tennis shoes dirty. Every Salvation Army husband who had 
his wife with him went down into the water with her, and not 
one was saved without his wife." 

SUNDAY SERVICES IN TORONTO 

There was much sorrow in the hearts of those who attended 
the three services held Sunday, May 31st, in the Salvation 
Army Temple in Toronto. Many pitiful scenes were witnessed, 
when those who had lost dear friends and comrades broke 
down; and it was with tender faces and gentle words that 
the brave soldier lassies went about doing their utmost to 
bring hope and peace into hearts dark with despair. 

The meetings were in charge of Colonel Chandler and 
Colonel Brengle, who came to Toronto on Saturday with 
Colonel French of Chicago to convey the sympathy of the 
Army in the United States to those who suffered bereavement 
in the loss of the Empress of Ireland. Colonel Brengle was 
the principal speaker at each service. 

When Colonel Chandler introduced Colonel Brengle at 
the morning service, he clasped him in his arms and kissed 
him. Before his sermon the colonel spoke a few words of 



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CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 105 

condolence to the sorrowing audience, which filled the large 
assembly haU to overflowing. Proceeding to his discourse, 
Colonel Brengle spoke feelingly of the beautiful lives that had 
been, in God's good pleasure, lost to the world. 

FLOWER OP ARMY AMONG THE LOST 

"Those who have died were prepared," he said, "and we 
believe that our dear ones have gone home, so have no fear 
or sorrow, because Jesus would have it so. 

"God," he continued, "whenever he finds it necessary to 
speak to his people very loudly through the medium of what 
men call a great disaster, chooses those best fitted to cope 
with the temporary pain and sorrow entailed thereby. 
Though for the time being the way may seem very dark, we 
must'^trust God to make the purpose plain and look forward 
to a glorious future of happiness, united once more with our 
beloved comrades." 

Gradually the sounds of grief that had been heard from all 
parts of the hall ceased as the colonel continued to point out 
the joy that is the portion of those who went out on that last 
short voyage prepared to meet their Maker. 

A cable from General Bramwell Booth was read, which 
concluded with the words: "Whether we live or whether we 
die, the Army must go forward." The whole gathering then 
rose, and with right hands upraised pledged themselves by 
singing: 

" I will trust Him, I will trust Him, 
All my life He has proved true." 



106 CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 

HUNDREDS SAIL ON OLYMPIC 

Several hundred members of the Salvation Army, under 
the command of Miss Eva Booth, on Saturday, May 30th, 
sailed from New York on the Olympic for their Inter- 
national Congress in London, mourning the fate of the 
feUow-workers of Canada who were lost in the Empress of 
Ireland wreck and in fuU realization that they themselves 
had barely missed sharing that fate. Miss Booth said: 

"We all came within an ace of sailing on board the Empress 
of Ireland. They offered us special rates and we thought 
it would be a good thing to go with our Canadian leaders. 
It was just by chance that we happened to change our minds, 
and take passage on the Olympic instead. The terrible 
disaster, in which it is reported so few of our Salvation Army 
comrades survived, cannot fail to make us sorrowful and 
very serious as we sail this morning. '* 

LOSS TO ARMY IN CANADA 

Commander Booth said that the loss of Commissioner Rees 
left the Army in Canada without a head, and added that 
most of those who had perished belonged to the preaching 
staff. 
Brief mention of some of the officers lost in the wreck foUows: 
Commissioner Rees came out from Reading in 1882, and 
in 1911 was put in charge of the work of the Salvation Army 
in Canada. He had been principal of the International 
Training College, London, field secretary of the United 



CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 107 

Kingdom and territorial commissioner for South Africa and 
Sweden. In 1885 he married Captain Ruth Babington. 

Colonel Sydney Maidment, chief secretary for Canada, 
had been stationed in Toronto since 1912. In 1887 he gradu- 
ated from Pokesdown and was appointed as an officer. He 
had seen service in Denmark, Finland, South Africa, South 
America, Norway and the West Indies. He married Captain 
Peckham in 1882. 

Brigadier Potter was born in Scotland and had seen service 
in Great Britain, Japan, United States and Canada, respec- 
tively. He had been in Toronto since 1906 as financial secre- 
tary. 

Brigadier Henry Walker, an Englishman, had been editor 
of the War Cry since 1912. He had served in Sweden, South 
Africa and Great Britain. 

Brigadier Hunter was in Canada on furlough after many 
years of service in India. He with his wife and family were 
going to the congress in London, on their way back to India. 

Major David Creighton was born in Sussex, Ontario, and 
entered the Army nearly thirty years ago at St. John, New 
Brunswick. He had been assistant immigration ofiicer, ai;d 
previously was a field ofiicer. His wife was also on the Empress 
of Ireland. 

Major Nettie Simcoe for the past year had been in charge 
of the work in Vancouver. For a number of years she 
was assistant editor of the War Cry. She was born in Eng- 
land. 

Major Findlay had been stationed in Toronto for the past 



108 CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 

five years. He was a member of the Special Efforts Depart- 
ment and had a long term of service in England before coming 
to Canada. 

Staff Captain Emma Hayes had been in charge of the 
Temple Corps at the Army headquarters, Toronto, for the 
past three years. She had a varied career in different parts 
of Canada. 

Staff Captain Arthur Morris had been stationed in Toronto 
for twenty years or more. He was assistant in the field depart- 
ment at the headquarters, James Street. 

Adjutant Hanagan was bandmaster of the Territorial 
Staff Band and was a valuable oflGicer. He had been in 
Toronto for the past eight years. 

Adjutant Green had been in Toronto for the past two 
years only and was accompanied by his wife and daughter on 
the Empress of Ireland. 

Adjutant Price was matron of the Hamilton Home. 

Adjutant De Bow was private secretary to Commissioner 
Rees. He had been in Toronto for ten years. 

Adjutant Stitt, secretary to the property board, had been 
in Toronto for six years. 

Adjutant Edwards was in the department of the men's 
social work in Halifax. 

Ensign Mardall was formerly in charge of the police court 
work in the Toronto courts, but in 1913 was removed to 
Vancouver where he had charge of the entire police court and 
rescue work of Vancouver and New Westminster. 

Ensign Jones was in command of the Calgary Rescue Home. 



CRIPPLING LOSS TO SALVATION ARMY 109 

Ensign Bonynge had been in Toronto for five years and was 
secretary to Colonel Maidment. 

Ensign Pattenden was the only Toronto-born officer of the 
Army on the Empress. He was connected with the immigra- 
tion department. He entered the service of the Army in 
1906. 

Captain James Myers was connected with the financial 
department at the headquarters. He was born in England. 

Captain Dodd, who was on the editorial department of the 
War Cry, had served in Toronto for eight years. He had 
been married for only a few days and his wife was on the boat 
with him. 

Captain McGrath was a member of the Headquarters 
Band and was well known in Toronto, where he had lived 
several years. 

Captain Harding Rees came to Toronto with Commissioner 
Rees and was with the property department. 

Captain Ruth Rees was connected with the divisional 
headquarters. 

A list of the Salvationists aboard and of the survivors 
will be found in another chapter. 



CHAPTER XI 

Notable Passengers Aboard 

sir henry seton-karr — ^laurence irving — amabel hack- 
ney — commissioner rees — major lyman — canadian gov- 
ernment officials — london clergyman — halifax pa- 
thologist — authoress among lost — some other well- 
known passengers 

THE tragic loss of life was emphasized by the fact that 
many of the passengers were known around the 
world. Among these were Sir Henry Seton-Karr, 
English lawyer, traveler and hunter, and the actor, Laurence 
Irving, and his wife, Mabel Hackney. 

SIR HENRY SETON-KARR 

Sir Henry Seton-Karr was born in India, February 5, 1853, 
the son of G. B. Seton-Karr, of the Indian civil service and 
resident commissioner at Baroda during the Indian mutiny. 
He was educated at Harrow and at Corpus Christi College, 
Oxford, where he received an M. A. degree. In 1876 he took 
second-class honors in law. He was called to the bar in 1879. 

In the next year he married Edith Pilkington, of Roby 
Hall, Liverpool, who died four years later. Then he married 
Miss Jane Thoburn, of Edinburgh. Two sons and a 

(110) 



NOTABLE PASSENGERS ABOARD 111 

daughter are in his family. His work for the State Coloniza- 
tion Committee and the results he accomplished as a member 
of the Royal Commission on Food Supplies in Time of War 
won for him, in 1902, his place among the knights of Eng- 
land. He was created a commander of the Order of St. 
Michael and St. George. From 1885 to 1906 he represented 
St. Helen's, Lancashire, in Parliament. Sir Henry wrote 
many books on sports, as he took keen delight in shooting, 
golfing, salmon fishing and yachting and collected notable 
hunting trophies. 

LAURENCE IRVING 

Laurence Sydney Brodribb Irving, actor, author and 
manager, was the second son of the late Sir Henry Irving, 
born in London August 5, 1870. He was educated at 
Marlborough College and the New College, Oxford. Later 
he spent three years in Russia studying for the Foreign Office. 
He made his first appearance on the stage in F. R. Benson's 
Shakespearean company in Dundee in 1893, and for the next 
two years was with J. L. Toole's company. Mr. Irving 
played in provincial tours, appearing in "A Bunch of Violets," 
'^ Trilby," and ''Under the Red Robe," from 1896 until 1898. 
In the latter year he joined his father, for whom he wrote the 
play ''Peter the Great," which proved a disastrous experi- 
ment, although it was a work of considerable cleverness and 
force. He was the translator of "Robespierre," written 
especially for his father by Sardou, and he himself played 
Tallien. He was the Junius Brutus in his father's unfor- 



112 NOTABLE PASSENGERS ABOARD 

tunate revival of "Coriolanus," and later was Colonel Mid- 
winter in ''Waterloo/' Fouche in ''Madame Sans Gene/' 
Antonio in "The Merchant of Venice/' Nemours in "Louis 
XI/' and Valentine in "Faust." In all these diverse charac- 
ters he manifested marked intelligence and ability, although 
his histrionic facility was developed slowly. He then entered 
into management for himseK, acting in England in "Bonnie 
Dundee" and "Richard Lovelace/' with moderate popular 
success, but no little critical approval, and later in "Raffles." 
He had made great advancement as an actor, proving himself 
an eccentric comedian of fine finish and incisive force, when 
he and his wife (Mabel Hackney) appeared in New York in 
1909-1910 in "The Incubus" ("Les Hannetons"), and "The 
Three Daughters of M. Dupont." In both these plays he 
won critical and popular approval. Recently, he was the 
lago in Sir Herbert Tree's revival of "Othello." 

SIR HERBERT TREE's TRIBUTE 

Sir Herbert Tree has written the following tribute to 
Laurence Irving: 

"We actors were proud of Laurence Irving in life and no 
less proud of him in death. There was always something 
fateful about his personality, and one feels that his end is in 
tragic harmony with his being. Irving was an idealist, fearless 
of standing by his ideals in any company. He was a scholar 
in knowledge as in expression, and as an actor had already 
attained to a great height. His work, like the man himself, 
was always original." 



NOTABLE PASSENGERS ABOARD 113 

Technically Irving stood at the very top of his profession. 
As an actor with power to thrill and hold his public, he had 
few equals and fewer superiors. Personally, he was a man 
of rare charm of manner, courteous, dignified, serious in con- 
versation, and imbued with the highest ideals. His devoted 
wife, whose whole career was wrapped up in her husband's 
success, was herself an actress of distinction whose loss is 
deeply deplored. 

They did honor to their profession and added dignity to the 
stage upon which they had so often appeared together and 
from which they were destined, in the end, to pass — ^together, 
as they would have wished it to be. 

COMMISSIONER REES 

The late Commissioner David M. Rees entered the Salva- 
tion Army Service from Reading in 1882. He was at the time 
of his death Territorial Commissioner for Canada for the 
second time. He was at one time Principal of the International 
Training College in London, and later became Field Secretary 
for the United Kingdom, assuming afterwards the office of 
Territorial Commissioner for South Africa and Sweden. He 
married Captain Ruth Babington in the year 1885. 

The last ofiicial function performed by Commissioner Rees 
was the conduct of the farewell service at the Salvation Army 
Temple on Wednesday night. On that occasion he was full 
of life and spirits. Every speaker on the platform was 
stimulated by his enthusiastic and delightfully humorous 
address. At the close he leaned over the desk during the 



114 NOTABLE PASSENGERS ABOARD 

singing of "God be with you till we meet again," and shook 
hands with a group of young men in the front seats, perfect 
strangers to him, but brothers in their presence at the service. 

MAJOR LYMAN 

Major Henry Herbert Lyman, one of the passengers, was 
well known throughout Canada as head of the old established 
wholesale firm of Lyman, Sons & Co., and was also widely 
known for his former association with military affairs. 

He was long connected with the Royal Scots, now the Royal 
Highlanders. He served from ensign up to senior major. 
He retired in 1891, but was afterwards appointed to the 
reserve of officers. In religion he was a Congregationalist, 
a member of Emmanuel Congregational Church. 

An ardent imperialist. Major Lyman supported every 
movement tending to a greater unity of the Empire. He held 
that to attain full citizenship in the Empire, Canada must 
bear her just share of imperial burdens. He was a strong 
advocate of imperial preferential trade. Politically, he was 
independent. 

Mr. Lyman was one of the organizers of the Imperial 
Federation League in Canada and formed one of the deputa- 
tion that waited upon Lord Salisbury and Mr. Stanhope in 
1886 to ask that an Imperial Conference be summoned, 
which Conference was held in the following year. He was 
treasurer of the League in Canada and was a member of the 
executive committee of the British Empire League in Canada. 

He was also vice-president of the Graduates' Society of 



NOTABLE PASSENGERS ABOARD 115 

McGill University; vice-president of the Natural History 
Society; President of the Entomological Society of Ontario 
and Montreal; a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society; 
and a Life Governor of the Montreal General Hospital. 

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS 

George Bogue Smart, Superintendent of Child Immi- 
gration, was a well-known government official, who was en 
route to England to accompany a party of British children 
to Canada. Mr. Smart was fifty years old and a native of 
Brockville, Ontario. He had been fifteen years in the govern- 
ment service, and his business took him frequently to the old 
country. He was a writer of articles and author of works 
dealing with immigration problems in Canada. He was well 
known as a lecturer. Recently he was elected a member of 
the Authors' Club in London. 

R. A. Cunningham, of Winnipeg, was on his way to England 
as representative of the Manitoba Government in the immi- 
gration department. He was formerly a lecturer at the 
Agricultural College. 

LONDON CLERGYMAN 

The Rev. J. Wallet, pastor of the United Methodist 
Church of Argyll Street, Westcliff-on-Sea, was returning from 
a holiday in Canada, paid for by his congregation. He gave 
up a good position in a ship-building yard in North England 
to join the ministry. He has a wife and one child. The story 
of his escape from the sinking vessel is told in another chapter. 



116 NOTABLE PASSENGERS ABOARD 

HALIFAX PATHOLOGIST 

Dr. Alexander Lindsay, of Halifax, pathologist at the 
Victoria General Hospital, was on his way to England to be 
married. His engagement to Miss Kathleen Webb, second 
daughter of Richard Webb, of Briarwood, Solihull, Warwick- 
shire, was announced the day before he sailed, and the 
marriage was to have taken place the middle of June. 
He was also professor of pathology at the Dalhousie Medi- 
cal College. 

AUTHORESS AMONG LOST 

Mrs. Ella Hart Bennett, one of the passengers on the 
Empress of Ireland reported lost, was the wife of Hon. W. 
Hart Bennett, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary of the Bahamas, 
was president of the Nassau Dumb Friends' League, member 
of the Order of Daughters of the Empire and prominent in 
social life of Nassau. As a girl she lived in Japan; she 
was the author of the book, "An English Girl in Japan." 

SOME OTHER WELL-KNOWN PASSENGERS 

W. Leonard Palmer, of the London Financial News, was 
well known in Halifax. He came with his wife to Canada 
to complete the organization of a New Brunswick land 
colonization scheme on behalf of English capitalists. He 
organized a recent English manufacturers' tour in Canada 
on behalf of the Financial News, and had organized a 
proposed Canada Confederation Exhibition in Montreal in 
1917. 




NOTABLE PASSENGERS ABOARD 117 

AKred Ernest Barlow was a lecturer in geology at McGill 
University. The son of the late Mr. Robert Barlow, of the 
Canadian Geological Survey, he was born in Montreal in 
1871. He entered the employ of the Geological Survey and 
was its lithogist from 1891 to 1907, when he retired. His 
wife was Miss Frances Toms, of Ottawa. 

Mrs. F. H. Dunlevy, numbered among the lost, was promi- 
nent in Denver society. Her husband, whom she married 
seven years ago, is a well-known realty dealer. Mrs. Dun- 
levy's family home is in Portsmouth, near Quebec. 

Henry Freeman and his wife were to spend two months 
abroad, visiting their old home in England. Freeman was 
head of the blacksmith department of the AUis-Chalmers 
Company and was to transact company business abroad. 
He refused to run for re-election as alderman of West AUis, 
Wisconsin, in April, because of his contemplated trip abroad. 
He was president of Common Council and one of the directors 
of the First National Bank of West Allis. 

P. C. Averdierck and A. G. Brandon, of Manchester, 
England, had been in New York for several days regulating 
the business of the American Thread Company, the American 
branch of Jones, Crewdson & Youatt, of Manchester, and 
were returning on the ill-fated steamer. 

George C. Richards, president of Lower Vein Coal Company, 
of Terre Haute, Indiana, was born in England in 1843, and 
took a degree in geology and mineralogy at the Bristol School 
of Mines. Mrs. Richards, daughter of Ben J. Street, Sheffield, 
England, came to America in 1879. 



M 



CHAPTER XII 

List of Survivors and Roll of the Dead 

ANY and varied were the reports of the numbers lost 
and saved in the great disaster; but the final ofl&cial 
figures were as foUows: 



CBcued 


Dead 


36 


51 


47 


209 


140 


577 


174 


241 



FirstClass 87 

Second Class 256 

Third Class 717 

Crew 415 

Total 1,475 397 1,078 

The lists of survivors and dead have been compiled from 
aU available sources. 

LIST OF SURVIVORS 

FIRST CABIN 

Abbott, F. E., Toronto. Clark, Charles R., Detroit, Mich. 

Abercrombie, H. R., Vancouver. Cunningham, R. A., Winnipeg. 

Addie, J. P., Birmingham, Eng., ^ , , -,^ . r,, 

Addie, Mrs., Birmingham, Eng. Darling, M. D. A., Shanghai. 

Atkinson, John, Vancouver. Duncan, J. Fergus, London, Eng. 

Fenton, Walter, Manchester, Eng. 
Burrows, A. J., Nottingham, Eng. 

Bubt, C. R., Toronto. Gallagher, Cedric, Winnipeg. 

Gaunt, Doris, Birmingham, Eng. 

Cash, Hardwood, Nottingham, Eng. Godson, F. P., Kingston. 

Cabh, Mrs., Birmingham, Eng. Gosselin, L. A., Montreal, 

(118) 



LIST OF SURVIVORS AND ROLL OF DEAD 119 



LIST OF SURVIVORS— FIRST CABIN (Continued) 



Hendbrson, G. W. S., Montreal. 
Hirst, A., Birmingham, Eng. 
Hyamson, L. a., London, Eng. 

KoHii, Miss Grace, Montreal. 
Kent, Lionel, Montreal. 

Lee, Ailsa, Nassau, Bahamas. 
Lyon, C. B., Vancouver. 

Malloch, C, Lardo, B. C. 
MtjLLiNS, Mrs. A. E., London, Eng. 



O'Hara, Mrs. H. R., Toronto. 
O'Hara, Miss Helen, Toronto. 

Paton, Mrs. W. E., Sherbrooke. 

Seybold, E., Ottawa. 
Smart, G. Bouge, Ottawa. 

Taylor, Miss H., Montreal. 
TowNSEND, Miss T., New Zealand. 

Wakeford, a. J., Liverpool. 
Wallet, Rev. J., London, Eng. 



LIST OF SURVIVORS— SECOND CABIN* 



Archer, T. H., Winnipeg. 

Barbour, Miss Florence, Silverton, B.C. 

Black, J. W., Ottawa. 

Black, Mrs., Ottawa. 

Bock, Miss Edith, Rochester, Minn. 

Byrne, E., Brisbane, Australia. 

Crellin, Robert W., Silverton, B. C. 
Court, Miss E., Liverpool, Eng. 

Dandy, J. F., Pierson, Man. 

Erzinger, Walter, Winnipeg. 

Freeman, Henry, West Allis, Wis. 
Freeman, Mrs., West Allis, Wis. 

Hunt, Dr. L. W., Hamilton. 



Kruse, Miss Freda J., Rochester, Minn. 
Kruse, Herman, Rochester, Minn. 

Langley, J. W., Merritt, B. C. 
Lennon, J., Winnipeg. 

OsLE2srDER, J., London, England. 

Patrick, J., Toronto. 
Peterson, H., Winnipeg. 
Peterson, Mrs., Winnipeg. 

Shongutt, Miss, Montreal. 
SiMMONDS, Reginald, London, Eng. 
SiMMONDS, Mrs., London, Eng. 

Weinrauch, B., Montreal. 

WiLMOT, Miss E., Campbellford, Ont. 



LIST OF SURVIVORS — SALVATION ARMY 



Atwell, Major George, Toronto. 
Atwell, Mrs., Toronto. 

Bales, Miss Alice, Toronto. 
Brooks, Frank, Toronto. 
Brooks, Mrs., Toronto. 



Cook, Mrs. J. E., Vancouver, B. C 

Delamont, Archie. 
Delamont, Bandsman. 
Delamont, Lieutenant. 
Delamont, Mrs, 



* Names of other aecond-class passengers appear in the Salvation Army list. 



120 LIST OF SURVIVORS AND ROLL OF DEAD 



LIST OF SURVIVORS— SALVATION ARMY (CbNTiNUED) 



Fowler, Mb. 

Green, Ernest, Toronto. 
Greenaway, Herbert, Toronto. 
Greenaway, Thomas, Toronto. 
Greenaway, Mrs., Toronto. 

Hannagan, Miss Grace, Toronto. 

Johnston, J., Toronto. 

Keith, Lieutenant Alfred, Toronto. 



McAmmond, Staff Captain D., Toronto. 
McIntyre, Kenneth, Toronto. 
Measures, William, Toronto. 
Morris, Major Frank, London, Ont. 

Pugmire, Ensign E., Toronto. 

Spooneb, Captain Rufus, Toronto. 

TuBPiN, Major Richard, Toronto. 

Wilson, Captain George, Toronto. 



ROLL OF THE DEAD 



FIRST CABIN 



Anderson, A. B., London, Eng. 
AvERDERCK, P. C, Manchester, Eng. 

Barlow, A. E., Montreal. 
Barlow, Mrs., Montreal. 
Bennett, Mrs. Hart, Nassau, N. P. 
Bloomfield, Mrs. W. R. 
Bloomfield,Lieutenant-Colonel W.R., 

Auckland, N. Z. 
Brandon, A. G., Manchester. 
BuNTHORME, A., Santa Barbara, Cal. 

Cayley, J. J., Hamilton. 
Cay, Mrs. C. P., Golden, B. C. 
Crathern, Miss Waneta, Montreal. 
CuLLEN, Mrs. F. W., Toronto. 
CuLLEN, Miss Maud. 
CuLLEN, Master. 

DuNLEVY, Mrs. F. H., Denver. 

Edwards, Cox, Yokohama. 

Goldthorpe, Charles, Bradford, Eng. 

Graham, W. D. 

Graham, Mrs., Hong Kong. 



Hailey, Mrs. D. T., Vancouver. 
HiSENHEiMER, W., Montreal. 
Holloway, Mrs. C, Quebec. 
Howes, F. W., Birmingham. 
Hunt, Miss, Toronto. 

Irving, Laurence S. B., London. 
Irving, Mrs. Laurence (Mabel Hack- 
ney). 

Johnson, David Frederick. 

Lindsay, Dr. Alex., Halifax. 
Lyman, H. H., Montreal. 
Lyman, Mrs., Montreal. 

Maginnis, a. G., London, Eng. 
Marks, J., Gabriel. 
Marks, Mrs. Suva, Fiji. 
Miller, Mrs., St. Catharines, Ont 
MuLLiNS, A. E., London, Eng. 
Mullins, Miss E., London, Eng. 

O'Hara, Mr. H. R., Toronto. 
O'Hara, small son. 



<-^ o 



£<^ 

J^ 1-1 

CD J 

o ft) 



(D Z 

2. z 

m 

i-b m 

E? O 

^ E 

^ m 







LIST OF SURVIVORS AND ROLL OF DEAD 121 



ROLL OF DEAD— FIRST CABIN (Continued) 

Palmer, Leonard, London, Eng. Seybold, Mrs. E., Ottawa. 

Palmer, Mrs., London, Eng. Stearns, Miss E. 

Price, Mrs. W, L., New Zealand. Stork, Mrs. A., Toronto. 



Rutherford, F. J., Montreal. 



Taylor, J. T. 

Taylor, Miss D., Montreal. 
Tylee, C. G. 
Seton-Karr, Sir Henry, London, Eng. Tylee, Mrs. 



ROLL OF DEAD— SECOND CABIN* 

The list of second-cabin passengers is not perfect, owing to the impossibility of 
obtaining accurate information. Even the lists issued by the Canadian Pacific 
contained many inaccuracies, and did not agree with the official figures. 



AssAPREY, Miss A. S. M. 
Atkin, Miss M. 

Balcomb, Miss D. 
Barbour, Mrs. W. 
Barbour, Miss Evelyn. 
Barker, Alfred. 
Barrie, W. 

Bawden, Miss Bessie. 
Bawden, Miss Florence. 
Baxter, Miss Mary. 
Bealb, Edward. 
Berry, Miss E. 
Birkett, Henry. 
Birne, E. 
BiRNE, Mrs. E. 
Birne, Miss F. 
Bishop, G. D. 
Blackhurst, Miss I. 
Boch, Reinholdt. 
BoYNTON, Mrs. F. E. 
Brown, Mr. O. 
BuHLER, Mr. Costa. 
BuHLER, Mrs. 
bulpitt, r. b. 
Burgess, Mrs. S. 



Caughey, a. E. 
Caughey, Mrs. 
Chignell, Mrs. E. 
Clarke, Mrs. William. 
Clarke, Miss Nellie. 
Cole, Mrs. A. 

Dale, Mrs. M, 
Dale (child of Mrs. M.). 
Dargue, Mrs. J. 
Deats, a. S. 
Elenslie, Mrs. J. 

Farr, Miss K. 
Farr, Miss N. 
Farr, Miss B. 
FlNLEY, J. M. 
Fisher, Mrs. John. 
Ford, H. E. 

Gray, Mrs. Charles J. 
Gray, Miss Mary. 
Gregg, James. 
Gregg, Mrs. 
Griffin, Mrs. W. H. 
Griffin (child of Mrs. W. H.) 



*Name8 of other second -cabin passengers appear in the Salvation Army list. 



122 LIST OF SURVIVORS AND ROLL OF DEAD 



ROLL OF DEAD— SECOND CABIN (Continued) 



Hageston, Hilda. 
Hakker, Mrs. J. 
Hakker, Miss Judith. 
Halliday, C. 

Hart, William Mortlach. 
Hart, Mrs. Mortlach. 
Hart, Miss Edith. 
Hart, Master William. 
Heath, H. L. 
Heath, J. R. 
Hepburn, Mrs. M. K. 
Hepburn, Miss B. M. 
Hepburn, Master H. M. 
HoGGAN, Mrs. Robert. 
Holcombe, Miss F. 
Hope, Miss C. 
Howard, Mrs. 
Howard (child of Mrs.). 
Howard (another child of Mrs.). 
HowAiiTH, William. 
Howarth, Mrs. 
HowARTH, Master Melvin. 
Hudson, R. W. 
Hunt, Miss E. De V. 

Johnstone, George. . 

Kavalesky, Ivan. 

Matler, a. 
McAlpine, a. 
MoiR, Mrs. Charles. 
Morgan, J. 
Morgan, William. 
MouNCEY, Mrs. W. 
MuTTELL, Mrs. T. 
Muttell, Miss. 
Muttell (infant). 

Neville, Mr. Harold. 
Neville, Mrs. Harold. 
Newtons, Miss Jennie. 



Patterson, John. 
Patterson, Robert. 
Patterson, Miss S. 
Perry, W. H. 
Priestly, Miss M. 
Prior, George. 

Quabtley, Miss^W. M. 

Reilly, John. 
Richardson, W. J. 
Richardson, Mrs. W. J. 
Richards, George C. 
Richards, Mrs. George C. 

Sampson, S. J. 
Scott, John M. 
Seable, Miss Eva. 
Shattock, William N. 
Smith, Miss E. 
Stage, Miss. 
Stainer, Mrs. E. 
Stanon, M. 
Stillman, a. E. 
Swindlehurst, Miss A. 

Taplin, Mrs. Eliza. 

Veitch, Miss B. 
Vincent, A. 
Vincent, Mrs. A. 
VoNELEY, Miss Alice. 

White, Mrs. George. 

White (infant of Mrs. George). 

Whitelaw, Mrs. J. 

Wood, Miss Mary. 

Wood, Mrs. S, 

Yates, Harry. 
Yates, Mrs. H. 



OsLENDER, Miss. 



Zebulak, Josef. 



LIST OF SURVIVORS AND ROLL OF DEAD 123 



ROLL OF DEAD— SALVATION ARMY* 



Aldridge, Bandsman. 
AxTON, Mrs., and son. 

Becksted, Adjutant. 
BiGLAND, Lieutenant Stanley. 
BoNYNGE, Ensign George. 
Bkaithwaite, Mr., and two children. 
Brooks, Miss D. 
Brown, Mr. 

Clark, Mrs, and child. 
Cooper, Mr. 

CoRSBLL, Mrs., and child. 
Crafton, Mrs. 
Creighton, Major David. 
Creighton, Mrs. David. 

Davidson, Mrs., and child. 

Davies, Mr. 

Davies, Mrs. 

Db Bow, Adjutant. 

DeBow, Mrs. 

Delamont, Leonard 

DrxoN, Mrs. 

DoDD, Captain T. and Mrs. 

DuFFT, Mrs. 

Dunn, Miss B. 

Eastes, Miss T. 
Edwards, Adjutant. 
Evans, Bandsman. 
Evans, Mrs., and baby. 

Falstead, Mb. George. 

Falstead, Mrs., and two children. 

Fell, Miss. 

FiNDLAY, Major. 

FiNDLAY, Mrs. 

FisHwicK, Mrs. 

Ford, Bandsman. 

Ford, Mrs., and child. 



GODDARD, Mr. 

Green, Adjutant Harry. 
Green, Mrs. 
Green, Miss Jessie, 
Greenfield, Mrs. 
Grey, Bandsman. 
Groome, Captain C. 

Hannagan, Adjutant. 
Hannagan, Mrs. 
Haules, Mb. 
Haules, Mrs. 
Hayes, Staff Captain. 
HoRWARD, Bandsman. 
Humphries, Bandsman. 
Hunter, Bmgadieb. 
Hunter, Mrs. 

Ingleton, Miss. 

Jay, Mrs., and five children. 
Jeffries, Mrs. 
Jones, Bandsman. 
Jones, Ensign Emily. 

Kelly, Mr. 
Kennedy, Mrs. 
Knudson, Ensign. 

Maidment, Colonel, 
Maidment, Mrs. 
Malone, Bandsman. 
Mardall, Ensign. 
Martin, Mrs. 
May, Mb. 
McEwAN, Mr. 
McGrath, Captain. 
Meecher, Bandsman. 
Morgan, Miss Lily. 
Morris, Staff Captain. 
Morris, Mrs. 
Myers, Captain James. 



*Thi8 liat was obtained through the courtesy of the Salvation Army officers in Toronto. 



124 LIST OF SURVIVORS AND ROLL OF DEAD 



ROLL OF DEAD— SALVATION ARMY (Continued) 



Nee»te, Bandsman. 

Pantling, Mrs. 
Pattenden, Ensign. 
Perkins, Bandsman. 
Perkins, Mrs. 
Peryer, Mrs. 
Potter, Brigadier Scott. 
Price, Adjittant Hanna. 

Raven, Mr. 

Rees, Commissioner. 

Rees, Mrs. 

Rees, Captain Harding. 

Rees, Captain Ruth. 

Rees, Miss A. 

Robert, Mr. 

SiMcoE, Major Nettie. 
Simper, Mr. 



Simper, Mrs. 
Smedlet, Mrs. 
Smith, Mrs. 
Stevenson, Mr. 
Stevenson, Mrs. 
Stitt, Adjutant. 
Stitt, Mrs. 

Wakefield, Bandsman. 
Walker, Brigadier. 
Watson, Mrs. 
Whatmore, Captain. 
White, Miss. 
WiLKiE, Mrs. 
Woodward, Miss. 
Woodward, Mr. 
Woodward, Mrs. 
Woodward, Mrs. 
Wyetta, Mr. 



CHAPTER XIII 

The Storstad Reaches Port 

badly damaged, the collier docks at montreal — seized 
on warrant — officers in conference — their version 
of the accident — whelped rescue empress passengers 

— STATEMENT OF CAPTAIN ANDERSEn's WIPE — GAVE ALL 
THEY HAD TO RESCUED PASSENGERS — STORSTAD'S OWNERS 
FILE COUNTER SUIT 

WITH the Norwegian flag flying half-mast at her 
stern the coUier Storstad, in charge of the tug 
Lord Strathconaj, came into port at Montreal 
on Sunday. 

The arrival of the Storstad at Montreal was awaited keenly 
from early morning. After leaving Quebec she was reported 
almost mile by mile by the Marconi and Government signal 
stations. By early morning it was definitely known that she 
would arrive soon after noon, and the wharf where it was 
announced that she would warp in was soon crowded. 

Newspaper men from all over the American continent had 
gathered to meet her. Obtaining information, however, was 
a difl&cult task. The Norwegian Consul was one of the many 
on the pier, and he was appealed to, bui explained that he 
understood several lawyers were on hand representing the 

(125) 



126 THE STORSTAD REACHES PORT 

owners of the vessel. The Black Diamond Line, a Norwe- 
wegian firm, had several lawyers on the pier to meet the 
collier. The warping in was a slow process, but when it was 
safely accomplished a gap of fifteen feet was left between the 
ship and the wharf edge. 

She bore the marks of her encounter with the big liner. 
Her bow was buckled and twisted. There was a hole in her 
side large enough for three men to stand in. Her anchors 
had cut their way through the heavy steel plates like a can 
opener through a sardine tin. 

Rails had been torn away and huge plates of steel bent 
and twisted lay piled on the deck just at the bow. All the 
gaps were high above the water line. Nevertheless, the 
Storstad, undoubtedly, was practically disabled and was 
able to reach port only with the assistance of the Govern- 
ment steamer Lord Strathcona. 

SEIZED ON WAKRANT 

In anticipation of the arrival of the Norwegian collier, W. 
Simpson Walker, registrar of the admiralty court, was 
instructed by solicitors for the Canadian Pacific Railroad to 
issue documents for their seizure of the Storstad for damages 
by collision to the extent of $2,000,000. The warrant was 
executed by Acting Deputy Sheriff Marson. 

CARGO UNLOADED 

No sooner was the vessel moored than the work of unload- 
ing her cargo of some 7,500 tons of coal started, and except 



THE STORSTAD REACHES PORT 127 

for the battered condition of her bows it would have been 
difficult to imagine that the collier had but a few hours 
previously taken part in the worst marine disaster in the 
history of Canadian navigation. 

The officers and men, however, bore traces of the harrow- 
ing experiences through which they had just passed. When 
questioned on the subject of the disaster they were averse 
to entering into conversation. 

OFFICERS IN CONFERENCE 

Captain Andersen, immediately after the collier reached her 
pier, was in conference with Captain Ove Lange, American 
chief of the maritime steamship company of Norway, and 
John J. Griffin, attorney for the company, both of whom 
had come on from New York to get the report of the cap- 
tain and sailors first hand, and to look into the situation. 

THEIR VERSION OP THE ACCIDENT 

Captain Andersen declined at first to discuss the dis- 
aster, declaring that he would make a statement later in the 
evening. Subsequently a statement based on Captain 
Andersen's report as well as the reports of other officers 
to Messrs. Lange and Griffin was given out. 

According to the captain and officers, contrary to what 
had been stated by the captain of the Empress of Ireland, 
the Storstad did not back away after the collision. On the 
contrary, she steamed ahead in an effort to keep her bow in 
the hole she had dug into the side of the Empress. The 



128 THE STORSTAD REACHES PORT 

Empress, however, according to the Storstad officers, headed 
away and bent the Storstad's bow over at an acute angle to 
port. 

After that the Empress was hidden from the view of the 
Storstad and despite the fact that the Storstad kept her 
whistle blowing she could not locate the Empress until the 
cries of some of the victims in the water were heard. The 
captain absolutely denied that he had backed away from 
the Empress after his vessel struck the passenger steamship. 
The Storstad had not moved. It was the Empress which had 
changed position, he declared. 

engineers' statements 

One of the most important statements was that of the third 
engineer of the Storstad, who was not averse to talking, 
but refused to give his name. He was on duty in the engine 
room when the collision occurred. 

"How long before you struck was the signal given to go 
astern?" he was asked. 

''It is impossible to say definitely, but it was about a 
minute; I should say a little longer than a minute," he 
replied. 

"Are you positive that you got the signal to go at fuU 
speed astern?" 

"I am certain the engines were going full speed astern 
when the collision occurred," he said. 

The third engineer's statement was supported by that of 
the second engineer, who, however, was not on duty at the 



THE STORSTAD REACHES PORT 129 

time of the accident. He said that at no time for several 
hours before the collision had the Storstad proceeded at 
greater speed than ten miles an hour. Thick fog had been 
encountered at intervals, he said-. ~^^ 

"The shock of the impact was not" vefy noticeable/' he 
said. "I did notice, however, that the engines had been 
reversed, and we were going full speed astern. That was 
about one minute before the shock came.'' 

HELPED RESCUE EMPRESS PASSENGERS 

Another officer said he was awakened in his bunk by the 
clanging of bells in the engine room, and, hastily going on 
deck, noticed the ship was going astern. The collision fol- 
lowed almost immediately. He said he helped to lower one 
of the boats and started to pick up the passengers. 

"It was no trouble to get a boat-load of them," he said. 
"Altogether some sixty were saved on the first trip. So 
heavily was the boat loaded she all but sank on her return 
to the Storstad." 

As far as this officer could tell four other life-boats were 
lowered from the Storstad, and most of those saved in the 
first trip belonged to the crew of the Empress. He could 
not account for this beyond the supposition that they were 
better able to endure shock and exposure than were the 
passengers. 

Asked if he noticed the siren of the Empress sounding, he 
replied that he had heard nothing, but would not say that 
the Empress did not sound her siren. 



130 THE STORSTAD REACHES PORT 

STATEMENT OF CAPTAIN ANDERSEN's WIFE 

Mrs. Andersen, wife of the captain of the Storstad, dressed 
in a blue cotton dress because she had given all her other 
clothes to the survivors, said that the captain was called 
from his bed Friday night by the mate because it was foggy. 
Her husband called her to come on deck, and while she was 
dressing the collision took place. 

"1 ran up to the bridge where Captain Andersen was," 
said Mrs. Andersen. '^Everything was dark and quiet. 
There was no excitement among the crew and I was cool. 

" 'Ave we going to sink?' 

'^ 'I think so,' he answered. 

"I couldn't cry, although I felt like it. I said to myseK, 
' My place is here and I will die with my husband. ' 

'^ Captain Andersen told me he was trying to keep the 
Storstad in the hole and that if the other liner had not been 
speeding they would have stopped together for a time at 
least. My husband ordered two of the officers to go to the 
bow and see if there was any water pouring in. 

''Again I asked him if we were going down and he 
answered, 'I can't tell yet.' He said he thought the Empress 
was all right. 

GAVE ALL THEY HAD TO RESCUED PASSENGERS 

"I think it was five minutes later that I heard screams and 
cries, and I shouted to my husband, 'Oh, they are calling.' 
At first it seemed as if the cries were coming from shore. 
The captain gave orders to go in that direction and pro- 



THE STORSTAD REACHES PORT 131 

ceeded very slowly. Everywhere around me now I could 
hear screams. My husband gave orders to send out all the 
life-boats, and that could not have been ten minutes after 
the vessels had collided. 

''I gave all I had to the passengers and have only what I 
am standing up in. My husband gave two suits and other 
clothes away. 

''The first woman to come on board was a Salvation Army 
member, clad only in her night dress. When she was brought 
into the cabin she ran to me and putting her arms around 
my neck said, ' God bless you, angel, if you had not been here 
we would have gone to the bottom.' " 

Mrs. Andersen went among the rescued passengers with stim- 
ulants. All the cabins were packed with shivering survivors. 

storstad's owners file counter suit 

An unexpected development came in the Empress of 
Ireland disaster on Wednesday, June 3d, when the Storstad's 
owners entered a counter claim against the Canadian Pacific 
Railway for $50,000 damages due to the collision, contending 
that the Empress was at fault and alleging negligent naviga- 
tion on her part. This complicated the case still more, and 
counsel on both sides busied themselves searching for pre- 
cedents in Canadian courts. There is a case, heard in Prince 
Edward Island in 1892, when the liability was limited to 
$38.92 for each ton of gross tonnage. On this basis the total 
liability of the Empress of Ireland would be $552,313 and of 
the Storstad $234,609. 



CHAPTER XIV 
Parliament Shocked by the Calamity 
st. lawbence disaster discussed in the commons — an 

APPALLING SHOCK — FATE'S HEAVY HAND — BORDEN AND 
LAURIER EXPRESS SYMPATHY. 

GOVERNMENTS may seem a Uttle aloof from their 
people in times of prosperity; but not so in times 
of trouble. The Canadian Parliament met on May 
29th under the shadow of a great disaster. No other busi- 
ness was discussed. 

The extras issued early in the morning had been read by 
members, and when the orders of the day were called the 
Premier rose with a paper in his hand. 

"I would like to say just a word," he said, "respecting the 
disaster, tidings of which have been brought to us today in 
awful suddenness, and in a dreadful toll of human lives 
taken. The disaster is one which brings a shock such as 
we in this country have never felt before. I am speaking of 
the earlier reports. Later reports are more reassuring. I 
sincerely hope they are true. That this ship, only a few hours 
out from Quebec, in the dead of night, and with 1,400 pas- 
sengers on board, should be so badly damaged as to sink in 



PARLIAMENT SHOCKED BY CALAMITY 133 

ten or twenty minutes comes to us in this country and this 
House as a most appalling shock. 

''I do not believe, from reports which have come in, that 
this is a disaster which could have been averted by anything 
the country could have done in rendering the navigation of 
the St. Lawrence more safe. It came in a fog, and could not 
have been prevented by any safeguards to navigation. In 
view of the magnitude of the disaster it is fitting that some- 
thing should be said in this House; that we should express 
our deepest regret for the disaster and our profound sj^n- 
pathy for those bereaved." 

"The hand of fate has been heavy against us during the 
past few months," said Sir Wilfred Laurier. "This is the 
third disaster on the St. Lawrence route since navigation 
opened two months ago, and in loss of life it has surpassed 
anything since the wreck of the Titanic. In proportion to 
the number of passengers carried, the loss of life in this 
event exceeds the Titanic itself. 

"It is premature to express an opinion on the disaster, but 
it is difficult to believe that such an accident could take place 
in the St. Lawrence so near to Father Point and not be pre- 
vented. I will not pass judgment, and I hope it will turn 
out to be one of those disasters which could not have been 
prevented by human agency. The sympathies of all will 
go out to the victims, and perhaps in a more substantial way 
later on. I will join with the Premier in extending to the 
families of those who have been lost our sincerest and deepest 
sympathy." 



CHAPTER XV 

Messages of Sympathy and Help 

nearness of the empress of ireland catastrophe — 
message from the governor-general — grief in eng- 
land — lord mayor of london starts fund — sympathy 
extended by king and queen — ^president poincar]^ 
regrets loss — the united states sympathizes — ^amer- 
ican red cross acts — tangible sympathy 

44x "▼" THAT we do not see does not hurt us." We can 
^^ endure a Balkan war or a Calabrian earthquake 
or a Kieff massacre with composure because the 
black print on white paper does not bring it alive before us. 
We have to be taken to the scene to realize it, and even then, 
unless we are trained observers, we stand with dull wits, not 
comprehending the full meaning. 

Yet so far as we can we seek to picture the calamities that 
happen even in the most distant parts of the world, and to 
express our sympathy for those who are in trouble. In the 
case of the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, which the 
president of the Canadian Pacific Railway describes as "the 
most serious catastrophe in the history of the St. Lawrence 
route," the task is not so difficult because the scene of the 
disaster is comparatively near, and because, perhaps, some 

(134) 



MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY AND HELP 135 

of the unhappy passengers were known to us. Canada, 
England, the United States — these were the countries most 
deeply affected and the first to extend sjmpathy and offers 
of assistance. 

MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL 

The following message was sent Friday night by H. R. H. 
the Duke of Connaught, Governor-General offCanada, to 
Right Hon. R. L. Borden, Prime Minister: 

''On behaK of the Duchess and myself, I desire to express 
to you our deep grief at the terrible disaster to the Empress of 
Ireland, and our heartfelt sympathy with the families of those 
who have perished." 

GRIEF IN ENGLAND 

The British public, which went home Friday night believing 
that the greater part of the passengers on board the Empress 
of Ireland had survived the disaster in the St. Lawrence, was 
greatly shocked Saturday when it was learned that the loss 
of life had reached one thousand, and that many of the vic- 
tims were from the United Kingdom. 

King George early in the morning sent a messenger to the 
European manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway express- 
ing his sorrow at the disaster and the great loss of life. 

LORD MAYOR OF LONDON STARTS FUND 

The Lord Mayor of London, upon learning of the extent 
of the disaster, decided to open a fund toward the relief of 



136 MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY AND HELP 

the widows and orphans as well as the dependents of those of 
the passengers and crew who had been lost. The King donated 
$2,500; the Queen, $1,250; the Prince of Wales, $1,250, and 
the Queen Mother Alexandra, $1,000. The Mansion House 
Fund was also turned to the aid of the sufferers, and a Liver- 
pool Relief Fund started. 

SYMPATHY EXTENDED BY KING AND QUEEN 

King George cabled to the Duke of Connaught, Governor- 
General of Canada, as follows: 

''I am deeply grieved over the awful disaster to the Empress 
of Ireland in which so many Canadians lost their lives. Queen 
Mary and I both assure you of our heartfelt sympathy with 
those who mourn for the loss of relatives and friends." 

To Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, president of the Canadian 
Pacific Railway, His Majesty cabled: 

' ' In the appalling disaster which has befallen your company 
by the loss of the Empress of Ireland, in which so many per- 
ished, I offer you my sincere sympathy." 

The Irish Nationalist Convention at a meeting in London 
under the presidency of T. P. O'Connor, passed a resolution 
of sympathy with the relatives and friends of those who died 
when the Empress of Ireland sank and it was transmitted to 
Sir Thomas Shaughnessy. 

PRESIDENT POINCARE REGRETS LOSS 

King George received the following telegram from Raymond 
Poincare, President of the French Republic: 



MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY AND HELP 137 

**It is with profound emotion that I learn of the terrible 
catastrophe in connection with the Empress of Ireland which 
will plunge so many families into mourning. From my heart 
I tender to Your Majesty the sincere regrets and keen sym- 
pathy of the French people." 

THE UNITED STATES SYMPATHIZES 

President Wilson also sent a message of condolence to King 
George. 

"I beg of Your Majesty," the President cabled, "to accept 
my deepest sympathy in the appalling catastrophe to the 
steamship Empress of Ireland which has brought bereavement 
to so many. English homes." 

Secretary Bryan instructed Ambassador Page in London 
to call at the British Foreign Office and express the United 
States Government's condolences and his own. 

The Transatlantic Society of America through its Secretary, 
E. Waring Wilson, cabled the United States Ambassador in 
London, requesting him to transmit to King George a mes- 
sage of sympathy for the loss of life in the disaster to the 
Empress of Ireland. Condolences were also wired to the 
Governor-General of Canada at Ottawa. 

President McAneny, of the Board of Aldermen of New York 
City, who had just returned from a conference on city plan- 
ning in Toronto, sent the following telegram to the Duke of 
Connaught regarding the loss in the sea disaster: 

"On behalf of those Americans who have just returned 
from the City Planning Conference at Toronto, and tc whom 



138 MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY AND HELP 

the ^hospitality of Canada had so generously been given, I 

extend deepest sjnnpathy to you and to the Canadian people 

upon your tragic loss of today." 
Mayor Mitchel also forwarded his sympathy: 
''The city of New York sends sincere sympathy to the 

people of Canada who have suffered through the tragedy on 

the Gulf of St. Lawrence." 

AMEKICAN RED CROSS ACTS 

While aid was not asked by Canadian and British organiza- 
tions in behalf of survivors of the steamship Empress of Ire- 
land and those dependent upon victims of the disaster, the 
American National Red Cross Society on Saturday, May 
30th, announced that it would forward to the proper 
authorities any contributions sent by Americans. 

TANGIBLE SYMPATHY 

From far and wide, in fact, warm messages of sympathy 
and offers of assistance were sent. The cities of Canada 
came valiantly to the rescue, councils and individuals appro- 
priating money for the relief of both victims and bereaved. 
For instance. Acting Mayor McCarthy immediately asked 
the Social Service Commission to prepare a list of the rela- 
tives of all Torontonians lost in the wreck, and to estimate 
the amount of money that would suffice for their adequate 
relief. The procedure was then to establish a public fund 
in the city, one-half being contributed by grant of the 
council, and the other half by citizens. 



MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY AND HELP 139 

Arrangements were made by the city to meet all Toronto 
survivors of the disaster upon their arrival at the Union Sta- 
tion, and, wherever necessary, to provide them with outfits of 
clothing. 

Thus in one way and another the friendly hand of help was 
offered to both survivors and bereaved. 



CHAPTER XVI 

Placing the Blame 

inquiry conducted by coroner pinaut — ^no reply to 

"stand fast" cry — TESTIMONY OF JAMES RANKIN — CHIEF 
ENGINEER EXPLAINS — WIRELESS OPERATOR'S STORY — GOV- 
ERNMENT INQUIRY — CAPTAIN LINDSAY's WORK — CAPTAINS' 
STATEMENTS CONTRADICTORY — STORSTAD DEFENDED — ^PILOT 
NAULT TELLS STORY — ^AN OFFICER'S STORY — THIRD OFFICER'S 
STORY — ''wait for THE VERDICT " 

WHILE final tabulations of the casualties in the sink- 
ing of the ill-fated steamship Empress of Ireland 
were being made on Saturday, May 30th, Captain 
Kendall, of the liner, was telling his story of the disaster at 
an inquiry conducted by Coroner Pinaut at Rimouski. 

Captain Kendall in substance declared that he had taken 
aU possible precautions against a collision. His ship had 
been stopped, and he had given the requisite signals when 
the collier which dealt the blow that sent the Empress to 
the bottom, was still two miles away; but the collier had 
kept on through the fog, which settled down after the two 
vessels sighted each other, and had rammed the Empress of 
Ireland while the latter was virtually motionless. Then, 

(140) 



PLACING THE BLAME 141 

despite his plea to the master of the collier that he run his 
engines full speed ahead to. keep the hole in the liner's side 
plugged with the Storstad's bow, said Captain Kendall, the 
Norwegian vessel backed away, the water rushed in and the 
Empress sank. 

NO REPLY TO " STAND FAST" CRY 

''What was the cause of the collision?" asked the coroner. 

''The Storstad running into the Empress, which was 
stopped," answered Kendall. 

Captain Kendall, in answer to a question by a juror, said 
that when he shouted to the Storstad's captain to stand fast 
he received no answer. It was impossible for him not to 
have been heard, he added. 

"I shouted five times. I also shouted, 'Keep ahead!' " 
said Captain Kendall, "and if he did not hear that, he 
should have done it anj^way, as a seaman should have known 
that." 

"There was wind?" 

"It was quite still." 

"When he backed away I shouted to him to stand by. 
I did not hear any explosion, but when a ship goes down like 
that there is bound to be a great deal of air, and the air 
pressure causes that." 

"How many boats were there on the Empress?" 

"Between thirty and forty. There were boats enough for 
everybody. She had boats for more than 2,000 people, and 
there was not that number aboard." 



142 PLACING THE BLAME 

TESTIMONY OF JAMES RANKIN 

James Rankin, a passenger from Vancouver, B. C, and a 
marine engineer, said: 

"I was aroused by the noise and ran out. There was a big 
pitch to the deck. I really cannot tell you how the accident 
occurred. I heard the whistle blow when I reached the deck. 
There was a heavy fog and you could hardly see fifty yards. 
Five minutes after the collision the fog lifted. The boats on 
the lower side were in the water and four or five of them got 
away and saved many people. 

"I think that if the collier had kept her bow in the hole 
she had made in the Ireland's side, she would have been able 
to make the shore and probably have saved every one. 

''The behavior of the officers on the Empress was beyond 
all praise. They did everything they could. The engineers 
remained below until they could get no more steam and the 
lights went out." 

CHIEF ENGINEER EXPLAINS 

Chief Engineer Sampson, who remained in the engine- 
room until the fires were drowned and the lights extinguished, 
was too ill to appear, and his testimony was taken at his 
bedside. 

"I was in the engine-room until the lights went out and 
there was no more steam," he said. ^'I had great difficulty 
in reaching the decks owing to the great list of the ship. No 
sooner had I got on deck, when the boats of the port side, 
which had broken loose, swept down on top of us and carried 



PLACING THE BLAME 143 

us under water. When I came to the surface I found myself 
under a life-boat and entangled in wreckage. 

*'I was finally pulled into one of the boats and could see the 
collier about a mile and a half away. Immediately before 
the collision we went full speed astern and then stopped. 
Then I got the order full speed ahead, but had only started 
the engines when the crash came. 

''We then kept her full speed ahead to try to reach the 
shore^as long as we had steam. Owing to the steam faiUng 
us and then the lights also, we could keep the engines going 
for only a few moments. 

"There was no explosion of any kind. I saw no reason 
why the coUier did not keep much closer than she did, as, if 
she had, there would have been many lives saved. I am also 
of the opinion that had she stuck to us we should have 
reached the shore.'* 

WIRELESS OPEEATOr's STORY 

William James, wireless operator at Father Point, told of 
being awakened by his assistant at 1.55 a. m. by the news 
that the Empress had been in collision with another ship. 
He then took charge and forwarded the word to the Lady 
Evelyn and Eureka. The Empress gave no reply further 
than to say that she was twenty miles from Rimouski. 

Captain Boulanger, of the Eureka, told of the trip he had 
made to the scene of the wreck. He was not sure on his first 
trip of the exact position where she had sunk. On the sec- 
ond, however, he could tell from the boiling up from beneath 



144 PLACING THE BLAME 

of the muddy water where the wrecked vessel lay. He told 
of gathering what bodies he could find. 

After a moment's deliberation by the jury it was decided 
to adjourn the inquest for the present. 

GOVERNMENT INQUIRY 

The British and Canadian Governments immediately 
co-operated to make the most thorough possible investiga- 
tion into the sinking of the steamship Empress of Ireland. 
On June 5th it was finally decided that the investigation 
should take place on June 16th. To the original commission 
of three first advocated (one to be appointed by the Imperial 
Government and two by the Government of Canada), four 
other names were added, making the total list as follows: 

Lord Mersey, chairman; Sir Adolphe Routhier, Chief Justice 
McLeod, Commander Caborne, of the Royal Naval Reserve; 
Professor John Welsh, of Newcastle, England; Captain 
Demers, Dominion Wreck Commissioner, and Engineer- 
Commander Howe, of the Canadian Naval Service. 

Commander Caborne and Professor Welsh were nominated 
by the British Board of Trade, the former being a nautical 
expert of wide experience and the latter a noted naval archi- 
tect. 

CAPTAIN Lindsay's work 

Meantime a preliminary inquiry was opened in Montreal 
on June 1st by Captain Lindsay, Dominion Wreck Com- 
missioner. He prepared for the investigation by examining 



PLACING THE BLAME 145 

witnesses privately and taking stenographic records of their 
testimony. This was done under the direction of J. D. 
Hazen, Minister of Marine. The evidence was submitted to 
the Minister, who then decided what witnesses should be 
called at the inquiry. The procedure was an unusual one, 
and called forth some adverse comment. Captain Lindsay, 
however, defended it on the ground that it was likely to 
facilitate the investigation, save time, and bring out the 
salient facts. 

CAPTAINS* STATEMENTS CONTRADICTOKY 

Excitement over the cause of the disaster ran high, stimu- 
lated by the more or less conflicting stories. Captain Ken- 
dall and Captain Andersen, in their public statements, agreed 
that fog signals were exchanged when their vessels were a 
considerable distance apart, but there were irreconcilable 
statements as to the speed and as to the Storstad's conduct 
immediately after the collision. 

Extracts from the captains' statements follow: 

Captain Kendall: ''I saw my ship was stopped. I blew 
two long blasts, meaning 'My ship is stopped and has no 
way upon her.' " 

Captain Andersen: ''The Empress was going a good speed 
ahead. She was going fast. She was making considerable 
headway." 

Captain KendaU: "I shouted to the Storstad to keep his 
ship full speed ahead to fill the hole made. He backed away. 
The Empress then began to fill and listed over rapidly." 

10 



146 PLACING THE BLAME 

Captain Andersen: "The Storstad's engines were ordered 
ahead for the purpose of holding her bow against the side 
of the Empress, and thus preventing the entrance of water 
into the vessel. The headway of the Empress swung the 
Storstad around in such a way as to twist the Storstad out of 
the hole." 

STORSTAD DEFENDED 

Divers opinions, which put the blame on the captain of 
the Storstad for not keeping the bow of his vessel hard against 
the Empress of Ireland, that her passengers might clamber 
abroad, aroused Captain A. J. Elliott, head of the marine 
department of the Canadian Pacific, to a statement in 
defense of Captain Andersen. 

''It has been said that the Storstad backed out of the hole 
in the Empress' side and did not give her passengers an 
opportunity to crawl over her sides," said Captain Elliott. 
"That is not true. The Storstad kept her engines ahead 
after the collision and attempted to keep her nose in the 
breach of the other's side. It did for a few moments, or 
may be minutes, but the momentum of the Empress of Ire- 
land still carried the greater ship ahead and drew the smaller 
vessel around with her. Consequently the lighter vessel was 
pushed out of the hole and could be of no assistance. As to 
a difference between signals, those for port and those for 
starboard are always the same, of course, and would not be 
misinterpreted if heard. But as to signals for fog and for 
clear weather, there is a difference. The fog signals are 



PLACING THE BLAME 147 

blasts prescribed by law of a duration of not less than three 
seconds, but they still are different from the port and star- 
board signals." 

Statements made by various passengers seem to agree that 
there was clear weather some time before the accident, but 
that one of the fogs for which the Gulf and St. Lawrence River 
are noted, lowered suddenly upon the two ships soon after they 
had exchanged warning blasts. The pilot of the Empress of 
Ireland had been put out in his boat and to all appearances 
the coast was clear. Then came obscurity and a confusion 
of signals. One passenger described the situation thus: 

''The Empress had been whistling and signaling to a shjp 
ahead. From the signals I thought there must be a vessel 
approaching us. Then I suddenly realized from my long 
experience at sea that something was wrong. I looked out 
and listened to the signals, and it seemed to me that the 
other vessel was taking a chance of crossing our bow. A 
moment later I realized that they had lost this chance, and 
the collier instead of crossing our bow had struck us square 
amidships." 

MESSAGE FROM THE STORSTAD's CAPTAIN 

When Captain Andersen passed Quebec with the Storstad 
he sent this message ashore : 

"The inquiry will depend on facts. In justice remember 
that the Storstad and her crew of thirty-eight men saved 
three hundred and forty-eight lives." 

It was believed that the disaster would be further 



148 PLACING THE BLAME 

explained when the Storstad reached port; but except for 
the reserved and official statement little was made known. 

While none of the men on board the Storstad, however, 
would give extended narratives of the disaster, because they 
have been warned not to do so, it was gathered that a 
moment before the impact the engine-room of the Storstad 
was ordered to go astern. Sailors stated that four boats were 
lowered immediately after the collision, which made their 
way to the scene of the wreck and picked up as many living 
as could be held by the little craft. They were all loaded 
down to their utmost capacity, and only very careful hand- 
ling prevented them from overturning. All speed possible 
was made on the trips to and from the Storstad, the living 
always being picked up first. 

PILOT NAULT TELLS STORY 

It was not until he had landed from the Storstad that 
Pilot Nault, the man who navigated the vessel up the St. 
Lawrence from Quebec, would make any statement. Captain 
Andersen, his wife, who was aboard at the time of the 
collision, and the members of the crew were feeling extremely 
sorry about the accident, the pilot explained. 

''When the survivors of the Empress were brought aboard 
the Storstad after being picked up in the few boats the collier 
had aboard, everything possible was done for them. Captain 
Andersen and his wife surrendered every bit of clothing they 
possessed to protect the survivors from the cold. They even 
had to improvise garments. 



PLACING THE BLAME 149 

"The Storstad steered surprisingly well all the way up the 
river/ ^ Pilot Nault went on. "With the assistance of the 
Lord Strathcona we had little diiB&culty in making eleven or 
twelve miles an hour. 

"As far as we could ascertain from an examination on 
board, the ship had some twenty plates sprung forward, but 
aft of that she is not damaged. After we left Quebec we 
flooded her aft compartments in order to keep her head up. 
There is no water in her hold, and she stayed on an even 
keel throughout the trip. 

CAPTAIN ANDERSEN MUCH DISTRESSED 

"Captain Andersen has taken the tragedy much to heart. 
Several times on our way up here I have found him crying. 
He was very much worked up over it, and was very, very 
sorry." 

"Did Captain Andersen tell you anything about how the 
collision happened?" Nault was asked. 

"No; he would say nothing about it. He said he was 
under orders not to talk. He told me that he had managed 
to pick up three hundred and forty of the people from the 
Empress, and had done everything in his power to make them 
comfortable until they were transferred to the relief steamers." 

Pilot Nault said a remark dropped by Captain Andersen 
at one time was to the effect that at the time of the collision 
he (Captain Andersen), his officer, and Pilot Lachance, the 
pilot who brought the Storstad from Father Point to Quebec, 
were on the bridge of the collier. 



150 PLACING THE BLAME 

"Did any newspaper men come aboard at Quebec and tell 
Andersen what Captain Kendall said?" Nault was asked in 
conclusion. 

"Yes; the captain answered them." 

"What did he say about Kendall's statement?" 

"He said they were lies," finished Nault. 

AN officer's story 

One of the officers on the Storstad gave out the following 
statement when interviewed after the arrival of the vessel: 

"At the time of the disaster I was lying in my bunk. 
Being awakened by a terrible shock, I jumped up immediately 
and ran out on deck, where I heard the engines going full 
speed astern. I am a strong man, and have had many expe- 
riences during nearly thirty years at sea, but what I saw and 
heard there made me weep. I still see all those men and 
women shrieking and struggling in the water. The statement 
that nothing was done to pick up the survivors is absolutely 
false; we lowered the boats and rescued over three hundred 
of those on board the Empress. There was not an officer or 
a man aboard the Storstad who did not do his utmost to 
save life and comfort the rescued; every man on the ship 
gave away everything he had. We split up the table-cloths, 
blankets, etc., to cover the rescued, many of whom were 
absolutely naked when picked up. Those who had been in 
the freezing water for an hour or so were at once taken to the 
engine-room, the warmest place on board, and so numb were 
they that several sat on the cylitiders of the engines, their 



PLACING THE BLAME 151 

flesh searing on the hot steel. I am absolutely confident that 
pubUc opinion will be entirely reversed when the true facts 
of the case are published." 

THIRD OFFICERS STORY 

The third oflacer, Jack Saxe, who was on the bridge when 
the collision occurrred, was most emphatic on two points: 
The Empress of Ireland was not stationary when the collision 
took place; the ship had considerable headway on her and 
her separation from the collier was as much due to this as to 
the withdrawing of the collier; and, further, there were no 
words heard from the captain of the Empress. 

"I have read what the captain said in his evidence at the 
inquest," said the officer, ''but it is not true — ^there are many 
things he has said there which are not true. We thought we 
were sinking ourselves after the collision, and did not think 
the other boat was badly damaged, so we got our boats ready 
to swing out, and then we heard the cries for help, and we 
launched our boats and rowed to the rescue. 

''Four times the boat I was in charge of went to and from 
the scene of the disaster and picked up passengers — some 
dead, but many alive. We have a pile of clothing on the 
boat deck here which was the night attire of the passengers 
we saved, and which was replaced by clothes which were 
lent them from this ship. 

"We- gave them every piece of clothing we had, and even 
gave them the bedclothes. The wife of the captain gave the 
women a lot of clothes, and she was working bravely through 



152 PLACING THE BLAME 

it all, ministering to the needs of the half-frozen people that 
were rescued. 

"The first boat from the collier got away in two or three 
minutes, and I headed her for the liner, which was gradually 
going over to one side. The first trip made I picked up 
thirty-two people who were struggling in the icy cold water. 
I brought them back and they were taken to the Storstad. 
Then I went back again and picked up sixteen more people 
alive and eight bodies of people who had died from the shock. 

"My crew rowed like demons possessed, and after we had 
put them on board our ship we rowed back again and got 
some more people and bodies. These we took to the pilot 
ship, which was nearer to us than the Storstad, the collier 
being about eight hundred yards away. 

"The third time we went back the liner was just going 
imder, and we pulled away from her some distance so as not 
to be drawn into the suction, and when she had disappeared 
we rowed over the spot and got some of those who were 
floating about. Their cries for help were awful, but they 
lasted only a few minutes and then all was silent as the 
grave. 

MANY DIED AFTER RESCUE 

"It was terrible while we were making our first journey 
back to the Storstad, with our boat filled to overflowing, to 
hear the cries of those we could not rescue, and aU the time 
there were two of the Empress' life-boats lying alongside our 
ship and some of the Empress' officers on board. 



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IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 

Here the intense physical suffering from cold and exposure, added to 
the mental agony preceding and accompanying it, overwhelmed many of 
the boats' occupants. In consequence, the Carpathia, which rescued the 
survivors, was literally a floating hospital during her gad journey back 
to New York. 




COMMISSIONER DAVID M. REES 
Of Toronto, who was in command of the Toronto detachment of the 
Salvation Army on the "Empress of Ireland", and was among those lost in 
the disaster. 



PLACING THE BLAME 153 

''One woman who was rather old, I think belonging to the 
Salvation Army, and one little girl, as well as seven men, 
died on board the collier after we had brought them aboard. 
They were almost frozen, and died of exposure and shock. 
Our forepeak is full of water, but there is no water in any of 
the holds. 

COULD NOT SEE LIGHTS 

"They were moving at a good speed when we hit them. 
We had seen the boat previously five miles off, and as we got 
nearer a fog came up and we could not see her at all. We 
could not see any lights^ and although we heard the sirens 
going, we could not exactly tell where the boat was, and we 
certainly heard no shouting through a megaphone to keep 
ahead." 

SIGNAL TO GO ASTERN 

A striking statement was that of the third engineer of the 
Storstad, given in a previous chapter. He was on duty in 
the engine-room when the collision occurred. 

He explained that the engines were going full speed astern 
at the time of the collision, and that the signal to go astern 
had been given more than a minute before the Storstad 
struck the Empress of Ireland. 

The third engineer's statement was supported by that of 
the second engineer, who, however, was not on duty at the 
time of the accident. He said that at no time for several 
hours before the collision had the Storstad proceeded at 



154 PLACING THE BLAME 

greater speed than ten miles an hour. Thick fog had been 
encountered at intervals, he said. 

WAIT FOR THE VERDICT 

All considerations of the lamentable catastrophe on the St. 
Lawrence River call for the exercise of the greatest patience 
on the part of the general public. The exact facts in regard 
to the circumstances which led to the collision will not be 
known till they are brought out by the official investigation. 
The nature of the case makes this inevitable. 

Later, when all have become calm and the complete story 
is elicited by the questioning of experts, it is probable that 
the incidents will arrange themselves in a convincing order. 
At the present time all statements point toward the incred- 
ible. A low fog which permitted high lights to be seen over 
it and a ship which apparently drove straight through it at 
a dangerous speed, rigidly holding her course simply because 
she had the ''right of way" and without regard for the fact 
that another ship was lying motionless and plainly annoimc- 
ing it by the use of recognized whistle signals, bring before 
the mind a combination of circumstances impossible to 
believe. . 

BLAME NOT TO BE PLACED BY AMATEURS 

The captain of the collier which rammed the Empress of 
Ireland should certainly have a fair opportimity to teU his 
side of the story before he is condemned, and also to answer 
certain essential questions. The one declaration that ma^^ 



PLACING THE BLAME 155 

properly be made at this time is that this case cannot be 
tried and settled by amateurs. The handling of vessels, 
particularly in cases of sudden danger, is a complete and 
insoluble mystery to the layman, despite his cheerful custom 
of thinking he knows all about it. 



CHAPTER XVII 

Empress in Fact, as in Name 

the exponent of safety and comfort — dimensions and 
accommodations — provisions for comfort and pleas- 
ure — weekly life-saving drill — the loss and in- 
SURANCE. 

THE Empress of Ireland and her sister-ship, the 
Empress of Britain, were in many respects fittingly- 
called ''the Empresses of the Atlantic." They stood 
as a synonym for all that is best, safest and most reliable for 
the use of the traveling public. The Empress of Ireland 
was an example of the best in construction and a model of 
excellence and taste in furnishings. She was an exponent of 
the latest achievement in marine architecture, combined with 
all the newest devices for the comfort of passengers. A large, 
graceful ship, well proportioned, she was built to meet every 
possible requirement of the service and also was remarkably 
steady in rough weather. 

DIMENSIONS AND ACCOMMODATIONS 

The length of the Empress of Ireland was 550 feet, and her 
width 66 feet. Her gross register (a term used in marine 

(156) 



EMPRESS IN FACT, AS IN NAME 157 

nomenclature to describe the carrying capacity of a ship) 
was 14,500 tons; when loaded, her displacement (the weight 
of the volume of water displaced by a vessel when afloat) 
was 26,550 tons. She was equipped with twin-screw pro- 
pellers, driven by triple-expansion, reciprocating engines 
generating 18,000 horse-power, and was capable of attaining 
a speed of 18 knots an hour, or approximately 20f geograph- 
ical miles. 

The Empress of Ireland contained accommodations for 350 
first-cabin passengers, 350 second-cabin passengers, and 1,000 
third-cabin passengers. Elaborate provision was made for 
the safety and comfort of the passengers. 

Six transverse bulkheads divided her into seven water- 
tight compartments, and, before the Titanic disaster demon- 
strated that all safety devices have their weaknesses, the 
Empress of Ireland was regarded as approaching to the ideal 
of the unsinkable ship. After the Titanic disaster, the life- 
boat accommodation of the Empress, in common with that of 
all other big liners, was overhauled and extended. 

The Empress was built at the Fairfield Shipbuilding Com- 
pany's works, Glasgow, and was regarded by seafaring men 
as being of thoroughlj^ sound construction. She was not the 
largest ship running to Quebec, the Calgarian and Alsatian, 
of the Allan Line, being of about 18,000 tons. 

PROVISIONS FOR COMFORT AND PLEASURE 

There were five passenger decks, with a boat deck above. 
The upper deck was famous among travelers, affording a walk 
of about an eighth of a mile. 



158 EMPRESS IN FACT, AS IN NAME 

On the upper and lower promenade decks were a number of 
special rooms, single and en suite, with or without private 
baths. 

The spacious dining saloon accommodated the entire com- 
plement of passengers and an attractive feature was the ar- 
rangement of small round tables in alcoves which were usually 
assigned to families or parties traveling together. 

The caf^ situated on the lower promenade deck was sump- 
tously appointed, in keeping with its practical purpose to 
supply light refreshments at any time during the day. 

The music room on the upper promenade deck, with its 
original decorations, cheery open fireplaces and many cozy 
nooks and corners, was the acme of comfort and luxury, while 
the smoking room, library and other public rooms were in every 
respect in keeping with the high standard maintained through- 
out the ship. 

The Empress of Ireland had been on the Atlantic service 
of the Canadian Pacific Railway for eight years, and was 
regarded as one of the finest ships on the Canadian route to 
England. Comfortable, fast, and considered to be as safe 
as any ship afloat, she was a favorite with travelers. 

WEEKLY LIFE-SAVING DRILL 

The usual life-saving driU took place every Thursday when 
the boat was in port. Every man on board was mustered, 
and instructed in case of accident what he should do and 
where he must report for service. It was very interesting to see 
tlie life-boats manned, lowered and rowed around the ship, also 



EMPRESS IN FACT, AS IN NAME 159 

to see the great collision mat quickly put over an imaginary 
hole in the side of the ship, and to watch the men rush with 
hose bucket and blankets to put out an imaginary fire. There 
was no hesitating or inattention : every man seemed to under- 
stand just what was expected of him and performed his part 
with precision and pride. 

WATER-TIGHT-COMPAETMENTS TESTED 

In this safety drill the water-tight compartments were 
closed and opened a number of times to test their mechanism 
and to see if they are working properly. All of the life-boats, 
of which there were enough to accommodate both passengers 
and crew, were kept provisioned with biscuits and water 
enough to last several days. 

THE LOSS AND INSURANCE 

Incidental to the loss of the Empress of Ireland is the loss 
of the mails. The Toronto shipment alone comprised fifty-one 
bags of letters and fifty-eight of papers, while eight hundred 
and five registered letters went down with the ship. The 
money orders carried on the ship, as nearly as could be 
estimated, amounted to $160,000. 

Both the Empress of Ireland and her cargo were fully 
covered by insurance, mostly in English and Continental com- 
panies, Lloyd's being assessable for between 45 and 50 per 
cent of the whole loss. The only Canadian company affected, 
as far as is known, is the Western Assurance Company, for 
$12,000 on a shipment of bullion from Cobalt to London. 



160 EMPRESS IN FACT, AS IN NAME 

Following is the insurance on the Empress of Ireland: 

Empress of Ireland (valued at) $1,750,000 

Empress of Ireland (cargo) 250,000 

Empress of Ireland (baggage and pas- 
sengers' effects) 10,000 



Total $2,010,000 



CHAPTER XVIII 

The Norwegian Collier Storstad 

dimensions of the storstad — ^a recent rescue — per- 
sonality of captain andersen — insurance 

THE Storstad, a twin-screw steamer, was built in 1910 
at Newcastle, England, by Armstrong, Whitworth & 
Co., for A. F. Klaverness & Co. Her registered 
home port is Christiania, Norway, and she steams under 
the Norwegian flag. She is 440 feet long, 58 feet 1 inch 
beam, and has 24 feet 6 inches depth of hold. The Storstad 
is a craft of 6,028 tons, with triple-expansion engines. , 

A RECENT RESCUE 

A brusque man is Captain Thomas Andersen, who com- 
mands the Storstad. It was scarcely three months before 
the collision with the Empress of Ireland that Captain 
Andersen with his vessel and crew was the means of rescuing 
six fishermen who had been fishing off Atlantic City, New 
Jersey. After they had fished for several days they decided 
to put further out to sea. 

Their engine was started and they sailed away. They had 
gone only a few miles, when their engine broke with a snap. 

11 (161) 



162 THE NORWEGIAN COLLIER STORSTAD 

They drifted on at the mercy of the sea, for nearly a week, 
the food supply almost gone. 

When their hope was about to give out they saw a passing 
steamship, which appeared as a speck upon the horizon. 
When she got near, the fishermen saw leaning over the side 
of the steamship a large man, smiling broadly, but with an 
expression of determination to land those in distress safely 
upon his vessel. 

PERSONALITY OF CAPTAIN ANDERSEN 

This man was Captain Andersen, master of the Norwegian 
steamship Storstad. Two days later he landed the men he 
had saved. 

Captain Andersen is a typical captain of a tramp steamer. 
Modest and unassuming, he tells quietly of what he is asked 
to, his simple story of bravery being entirely without 
varnishing by him. 

INSURANCE 

The insurance of the Storstad, carried wholly by Norwegian 
underwriters, was as follows: 

Storstad .$325,000 

Storstad (cargo) 60,000 

Grand total $385,000 



CHAPTER XIX 

The St. Lawrence: A Beautiful River > 

MEASURES^ TAKEN FOR SAFETY — ^FATHER POINT — ^PICTURESQUE 
RIVER-^GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE— HISTORICAL BACKGROUND — 

TAD.OUSAC CAP TOURMENTE — QUEBEC — MONTREAL — GEOIi- 

OGY OF COUNTRY. 

THE St. Lawrence. passage is one of the most beautiful 
in the world, and is also one of the safest and best 
marked of all interior waterways. 
The improvement of the St. Lawrence, indeed^ dates as 
far back as 1825. In that year the opening of the Lachine 
Canal gave connection with the Great Lakes and established 
a commercial basis for the route. In those days attention was 
turned chiefly to making the channel deeper. At that time 
light sailing vessels could come up as far as Montreal. In 
1844 dredging was begun to give safe passage for vessels of 
500 tons. The progress made in this fundamental of safe 
navigatioi;! may be strikingly shown by a few figures. 
The original depth of water in Lake St. Peter was ten feet 
six inches. Today there are thirty feet of water there and a 
channel 800 feet in width. In order to provide the present 
channel it has been necessary to dredge seventy miles; and 
the cost of the work since 1851 has been $15,600,000. 

(163^ 



THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER , 165 

The deepening of the channel, the straightening of curves 
and the removal of obstructions — these things have been but 
the beginning of measures taken for the safety of the St. 
Lawrence route by the Canadian government. The water- 
ways have been charted. The tides have been measured. 
The darkness has been lighted and beacons erected to throw 
a warning or a welcoming flash across the waters. Fog alarms 
have been installed. Wireless and other signal stations have 
been erected, and a system of marine intelligence has been 
built up to warn the mariner of coming storms. Science has 
been enlisted in the cause, and the Dominion has in several 
directions been a pioneer in the world-wide work of providing 
for the safety of those who go down to the sea in ships. 

FATHEE POINT 

Father Point, near which the wreck of the Empress of 
Ireland occurred, is a small village on the south bank of 
the St. Lawrence, and ten miles distant from Rimouski, 
where the transatlantic mails are transferred. It stands high 
above the water, and on clear days can be seen from a 
distance of twenty miles. 

In 1859 the first telegraph line was connected with this 
point, and Robert E. Easson was the first operator. It was 
the first point in Canada to receive old country news from 
the boats, and this was relayed to other parts. Messages for 
the old country were also wired there frequently and mailed 
on the boats. 

The river in thjs neighborhood is approximately thirty 



1G6 THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER 

miles wide. Rimouski is about 150 miles down the river 
from Quebec, and usually is reached in the early morning 
after an afternoon departure from Quebec. 

PICTURESQUE RIVER 

The St. Lawrence comes down to the gulf under various 
names. From the little River St. Louis it pours through 
the great inland sea of Lake Superior and the St. Mary's 
River, with its crowded canals, into Lake Huron; thence, in 
another outflow, through the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers 
to Lake Erie and from there by the Niagara River and its 
wonderful falls, to Lake Ontario. From Lake Ontario, for 
750 miles, it rolls to the gulf and the ocean under its own 
historic name and is never less than a mile in width. As it 
broadens and deepens into beautiful lakes or narrows and 
shallows into restless rapids, as it sweeps past cHffs crowned 
with verdure or great natural ridges capped with dense 
forests, as these break frequently to reveal fertile valleys and 
a rolling country, or rise into rugged and yet exquisitely 
picturesque embodiments of nature such as the heights of 
Quebec, there comes the thought that here, indeed, is a 
fitting entrance to a great country, an adequate environment 
for the history of a romantic people, a natural stage-setting 
for great events and gallant deeds. 

Though greater than any other Canadian river, the St. 
Lawrence was, and is, a natural type and embodiment of 
them all. Sweeping in its volume of water, sometimes wild 
and impetuous, never slow or sluggish, on its way to the sea. 



THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER 167 

ever changing in its currents and rapids and waterfalls, its 
lakes and incoming river branches, passing through varied 
scenery yet always preserving in its course a degree of dignity 
which approaches majesty, it reveals a combination of 
volume and vastness, beauty and somberness, which makes it 
in more senses than one the father of waters on this conti- 
nent — ''the great river without an end," as an Indian once 
described it to Cartier. 

GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE 

The gulf into which the river broadens is more or less a 
land-locked sea, deep and free from reef or shoal, running 
500 miles from north to south and 243 from east to west. 
In its center lies the once lonely and barren Isle of Anticosti; 
not far from Gaspe Bay, two miles out at sea, lies La Roche 
Perce, a gigantic pile of stone with perpendicular walls form- 
ing, in certain conditions of the weather, a marvelous com- 
bination of colors outlined against the blue sky and emerald 
sea. In this rock there is now an opening broken by the 
unceasing dash of the waves; according to Denys there were 
at one time three great arches, and seventy years before his 
time Champlain stated that there was only one but that one 
big enough for a ship to sail through; in still earlier days 
Indian legends describe its connection with the shore. 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 

Let us at this stage look lightly at some of the geograpnical 
and associated conditions as we pass slowly up the St. 



168 THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER 

Lawrence from its mouth, and try to see what manner of 
region this is which has witnessed so much of romance and 
has brought together and kept together the new iand the old 
— the Europe of three centuries ago and the America of 
today. From Perce and its memories of a naval battle in 
1776, when two American ships were sunk, we pass along a 
shore devoted with undying allegiance to codfish, and possess- 
ing at Mont Ste. Anne one of the finest scenic views in 
eastern Canada. At Gaspe, the chief place in the Peninsula 
— the farthest point of Quebec on the south shore of the 
St. Lawrence — there are abundant salmon and fruitful inland 
fields. Here Cartier once landed, took possession of vast 
unknown regions for the King of France and erected a cross 
thirty feet high which flew the fleur-de-lis, also, as a mark of 
ownership; near here, Admiral Kirke defeated a large 
French fleet. Then comes Cape Gaspe with its towering 
rampart of sandstone, nearly 700 feet high, and many 
succeeding miles of rocky walls and lofty cliffs. Near Cape 
Chatte, another English and French naval fight took place, 
and near here, also, runs into the St. Lawrence the Matane 
River, famous for its trout and salmon, while the great river 
itself stretches thirty-five miles across to its northern shores. 

TADOUSAC 

Thence, one goes up the river to Tadousac, the ancient 
village on the north shore, which nestles at the black jaws of 
the Saguenay and seems unafraid of all the majesty and 
mystery of the scene, of all the weird tales and fables which 



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THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER 169 

centuries have woven around it, of the dark depths which go 
down into the bowels of the earth and of shores which are 
bleak, inaccessible and perpendicular walls of soaring rock. 
A little higher up on the other side of the St. Lawrence are 
Riviere du Loup and Cacouna — the latter a fashionable 
summer resort perched on a rocky peninsula many feet above 
the water. Back on the north shore is Murray Bay — the 
Malle Bale of Champlain, now famous for its fishing and 
bathing. Not far up the river, which here is fifteen miles 
wide, are the picturesque village and mountain of Les 
Eboulements with Isle aux Coudres and its mediaeval popula- 
tion out in the center of the river. As the modern traveler 
passes on up to Quebec City he realizes something of what 
scenery is in Canada. On the north, for a time, there is 
visible a region of splendid vistas, a country of volcanic origin 
where rocks and mountains seem to roll into one another and 
commingle in the wildest fantasies of nature's strangest 
mood. 

CAP TOURMENTE 

Then comes Cap Tourmente, towering 2,000 feet from the 
water's edge, and other massed piles of granite jutting out 
into the river, with the Isle of Orleans green and beautiful 
in the sunlight, with the St. Lawrence jewel-bright and 
showing glimpses of the white curtain of Montmorency Falls 
in the distance, with the naked, somber heights of the 
Laurentides to the north. Everywhere, indeed, along the 
north shore, from far down on the Labrador coast up to Cap 



170 THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER 

Tourmente, there is this wall of mountains, like a sea of 
rolling rocks, cleft here and there by such recesses as Murray 
Bay or the Saguenay. Everywhere, also, are footprints of 
the early explorers. Here Cartier landed, there Champlain 
ca,mped, here De Roberval is supposed to have disappeared 
forever between the wide walls of the Saguenay, there Pont- 
Grave or Chauvin left traces of adventurous exploits. 

QUEBEC 

At Quebec there looms up the sentinel on the rock which 
overlooks all the pages of Canadian history and still stands 
as the most picturesque and impressive city of the new 
world. Here, on one side of the mile-wide river stand the 
green heights of Levis; on the other are the grand outHnes 
of Cape Diamond, crowned with the ramparts of Quebec 
and now embodying age and power as the graces of the 
Chateau Frontenac represent modern luxury and business. 
In the neighborhood of this once famous walled city lie the 
Falls of Montmorency and the historic shrine of Ste. Anne 
de Beaupre; a succession of villages typical of the life of the 
old-time habitants and redolent of mediaeval Europe; ruins 
of famous chateaux embodying memories of history and 
politics, love and laughter, tragedy and crime. 

HISTORY AND TRADITION 

Passing from Quebec up the river to Montreal, the mouth 
of the Chaudiere is seen with its splendid falls in the dis- 
tance and the valley through which Benedict Arnold marched 



THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER 171 

his disastrous expedition to the hoped-for capture of Quebec. 
At Pointe-aux-Trembles, farther on, there took place several 
encounters between French and English. Three Rivers 
stands at the mouth of the St. Maurice, which rises, with 
the Ottawa and the Saguenay, in a maze of lakes and streams 
hundreds of miles to the north. In the city lie varied his- 
toric memories running back to 1618 and including masses 
of legend and romantic tradition. Not far from here the 
St. Lawrence widens into Lake St. Peter and just above 
it the Richelieu pours its waters into the greater stream, and 
at this point stands Sorel where in 1642 a fort was built by 
M. de Montmagny. 

MONTREAL 

Montreal, with its modern population of 500,000 people, 
rests at the meeting-place of the new and the old. It com- 
bines in itself the great and sometimes rival interests of 
church and commerce, the customs and methods of the Eng- 
lish and French races, the streets and narrow passages of 
the past with the great financial thoroughfares and build- 
ings of the present. It stands at a point where all the com- 
mercial and business ideals of English Canada meet and 
press upon the traditions, practices and policy of French 
Canada; it preserves itself by combining these varied inter- 
ests and maintaining a center of wealth, commerce and 
transportation, while, so far as its French population is con- 
cerned, remaining devoted to racial instincts and loyal to 
one religious faith. 



172 THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER 

GEOLOGY OF COUNTRY 

Geologically this country of the French Canadian is of 
intense interest. It reaches back into the most ancient 
period of the world's evolution; it was a later product of 
titanic changes and movements of the earth's surface. The 
grinding, crushing flow of great masses of ice from the Arctic 
regions had potent force in creating the vast basin of the 
St. Lawrence; upheavals of a volcanic character are obvious 
around Montreal, are clearly marked in the Lake St. John 
region, are found in the Laurentian ranges; evidence of 
earthquakes comes to us from within historic ages. Of the 
mountains in the Eastern Townships country, where the 
elemental struggles of geological antiquity must have been 
violent beyond description, Jesuit records at St. Francis 
describe an earthquake of September 5, 1732, so powerful 
as to destroy a neighboring Indian village. The better- 
known disturbance of 1663 along the lower St. Lawrence 
lasted for months and resulted in continuous landslides and 
a series of convulsions. The St. Lawrence was said to have 
run white as milk for a long distance because of the hills 
and vast masses of sand which were thrown into it, ranges 
of hills disappeared altogether, the forests, according to an 
Indian description, became as though they were drunk, vast 
fissures opened in the ground, and the courses of streams 
were changed. The whole of the Mount Royal region and 
valley shows clear evidences of volcanic action. 

These latter disturbances were, however, only episodes 
in geologic ages of formation; there are no signs of a continu- 



THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER 173 

ing character. Forever, so far as finite vision can see, the 
mighty piles of the Laurentian and other ranges of this part 
of the continent will stand as memorials of still more mighty 
world-movements, as a somber environment for the history 
of the Indians and the early struggles of the French Canadian 
people, and as solemn witnesses of the civilization which has 
now taken possession of this inherited greatness and hopes 
in its own fleeting, fitful, fighting way to build upon and 
refine and cultivate nature's splendid storehouse for its own 
purposes and the advancement of its people. 



FACTS ABOUT THE WRECK OF THE TITAmC 



N "UMBER of persons aboard, 2224. 
Number of life-boats and rafts, 20. 
Capacity of each life-boat, 50 passengers and crew of 8. 

Utmost capacity of life-boats and rafts, about 1 100. 

Number of life-boats wrecked in launching, 4. 

Capacity of life-boats safely laimched, 928. 

Total number of persons taken in life-boats, 717. 

Number who died in life-boats, 6. 

Total number saved, 711. 

Total number of Titanic's company lost, 1513. 

The cause of the disaster was a collision with an iceberg in lati- 
tude 41.46 north, longitude 50.14 west. The Titanic had had re- 
peated warnings of the presence of ice in that part of the course. 
Two official warnings had been received defining the position of the 
ice fields. It had been calculated on the Titanic that she would 
reach the ice fields about 11 o'clock Sunday night. The colUsion 
occurred at 11.40. At that time the ship was driving at a speed 
of 2 1 to 23 knots, or about 26 miles, an hour. 

There had been no details of seamen assigned to each boat. 

Some of the boats left the ship without seamen enough to man 
the oars. 

Some of the boats were not more than half full of passengers. 

The boats had no provisions, some of them had no water stored, 
some were without sail equipment or compasses. 

In some boats, which carried sails wrapped and bound, there 
was not a person with a knife to cut the ropes. In some boats the 
plugs in the bottom had been pulled out and the women passengers 
were compelled to thrust their hands into the holes to keep the 
boats from filling and sinking. 

The captain, E. J. Smith, admiral of the White Star fleet, went 
down with his ship. 



CHAPTER XX 

The Tragic Story of the Titanic Disaster. 

^'the titanic in collision, but everybody safe'^ — anotheb 
triumph set down to wireless telegraphy — the world 
goes to sleep peacefully — the sad awakening, 

LIKE a bolt out of a clear sky came the wireless message 
on Monday, April 15, 1912, that on Sunday night 
the great Titanic, on her maiden voyage across the 
Atlantic, had struck a gigantic iceberg, but that all the passen« 
gers were saved. The ship had signaled her distress and 
another victory was set down to wireless. Twenty-one 
hundred lives saved! 

Additional nev/s was soon received that the ship had collided 
with a mountain of ice in the North Atlantic, off Cape Race^ 
Newfoundland, at 10.25 Sunday evening, April 14th, At 
4.15 Monday morning the Canadian Government Marine 
Agency received a wireless message that the Titanic was sinking 
and that the steamers towing her were trying to get her into 
shoal water near Cape Race, for the purpose of beaching her. 
Wireless despatches up to noon Monday showed that the 
passengers of the Titanic were being transferred aboard the 
steamer Carpathia, a Cunarder^ which left New Yorkj April 

175 



176 FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT DISASTER 

ISth, for NapleSo Twenty boat-loads of the Titanic's pas« 
sengers were said to have been transferred to the Carpathia 
then, and allowing forty to sixty persons as the capacity of 
each life-boat, some 800 or 1200 persons had already been 
transferred from the damaged liner to the Carpathia. They 
were reported as being taken to Halifax, whence they would 
be sent by train to New York. 

Another liner, the Parisian, of t.ho Allan Company, which 
sailed from Glasgow for Halifax on April 6th, was said to be 
close at hand and assisting in the work of rescue. The Baltic, 
Virginian and Olympic were also near the scene, according to 
the information received by wireless. 

While badly damaged, the giant vessel was reported as 
still afloat, but whether she could reach port or shoal water 
was uncertain. The White Star officials declared that the 
Titanic was in no immediate danger of sinking, because of 
her numerous water-tight compartments. 

"While we are still lacking definite information," Mr, 
Franklin, vice-president of the White Star Line, said later 
in the afternoon, ''we believe the Titanic's passengers will 
reach Halifax, Wednesday evening. We have received no 
further word from Captain Haddock, of the Olympic, or from 
any of the ships in the vicinity, but are confident that there 
will be no loss of life." 

With the understanding that the survivors would be taken 
to Halifax the line arranged to have thirty Pullman cars, 
two diners and many passenger coaches leave Boston Monday 
Slight for Halifax to get the passengers after they were landed. 



FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT DISASTER 177 

Mr. Franklin made a guess that the Titanic's passengers 
would get into Halifax on Wednesday. The Department of 
Commerce and Labor notified the White Star Line that cus- 
toms and immigration inspectors would be sent from Montreal 
to Halifax in order that there would be as little delay as pos- 
sible in getting the passengers on trains. 

Monday night the world slept in peace and assurance. 
A wireless message had finally been received, reading: 

*'AU Titanic's passengers safe." 

It was not until nearly a week later that the fact was 
discovered that this message had been wrongly received in 
the confusion of messages flashing through the air, and that 
in reality the message should have read : 

''Are all Titanic's passengers safe?" 

With the dawning of Tuesday morning came the awful news 
of the true fate of the Titanic. 



CHAPTER XXI 

The Most Sumptuous Palace Afloat 

dimensions of the titanic — capacity — provisions fob 
the comfort and entertainment op passengers — 
mechanical equipment — the army of attendants re= 

QUIREDo 

THE statistical record of the great ship has news value 
at this timeo 
Early in 1908 officials of the White Star Company 
announced that they would eclipse all previous records in 
shipbuilding with a vessel of staggering dimensions. The 
Titanic resulted. 

The keel of the ill-fated ship was laid in the summer of 
1909 at the Harland & Wolff yards, Belfast. Lord Pirrie, 
considered one of the best authorities on ^shipbuilding in the 
world, was the designer. The leviathan was launched on 
May 31, 1911, and was completed in February, 1912, at a 
cost of $10,000,000, 

SISTER SHIP OF OLYMPIC 

The Titanic, largest liner in commission, was a sister ship 
Qf the OljmapiCo The registered tonnage of each vessel Ig 

178 



THE MOST SUMPTUOUS PALACE AFLOAT 179 

estimated as 45,000, but officers of the White Star Line say 
that the Titanic measured 45,328 tons. The Titanic was 
commanded by Captain E. J. Smith, the White Star ad- 
miral, who had previously been on the OlympiCo 

She was 8823/^ feet long, or about four city blocks, and 
was 5000 tons bigger than a battleship twice as large as the 
dreadnought Delaware. 

Like her sister ship, the Olympic, the Titanic was a four- 
funneled vessel, and had eleven decks. The distance from 
the keel to the top of the funnels was 175 feet. She had an 
average speed of twenty-one knotSo 

The Titanic could accommodate 2500 passengers. The 
steamship was divided into numerous compartments, sepa- 
rated by fifteen bulkheads. She was equipped with a gym- 
nasium, swimming pool, hospital with operating room^ mxd 
a grill and palm garden, 

CARRIED CREW OF 860 

The registered tonnage was 45,000, and the displacement 
tonnage 66,000. She was capable of carrying 2500 passengers 
and the crew numbered 860. 

The largest plates employed in the hull were 36 feet long, 
weighing 43/^ tons each, and the largest steel beam used was 
92 feet long, the weight of this double beam being 4 tons. 
The rudder, which was operated electrically, weighed 100 
tons, the anchors 15^ tons each, the center (turbine) pro= 
peller 22 tons, and each of the two "wing" propellers 38 
tone eacho The after "boss-arms," from which were bub- 



180 THE MOST SUMPTUOUS PALACE AFLOAT 

pended the three propeller shafts, tipped the scales at 73J^ 
tons, and the forward "boss-arms" at 45 tons. Each link 
in the anchor-chains weighed 175 pounds. There were more 
than 2000 side-lights and windows to light the public rooms 
and passenger cabins. 

Nothing was left to chance in the construction of the 
Titanic. Three million rivets (weighing 1200 tons) held the 
solid plates of steel together. To insure stability in binding 
the heavy plates in the double bottom, half a million rivets, 
weighing about 270 tons, were used. 

All the plating of the hulls was riveted by hydraulic power, 
driving seven-ton riveting machines, suspended from trav- 
eling cranes. The double bottom extended the full 
length of the vessel, varying from 5 feet 3 inches to 6 feet 3 
inches in depth, and lent added strength to the hull. 



MOST LUXURIOUS STEAMSHIP 

Not only was the Titanic the largest steamship afloat but 
it was the most luxurious. Elaborately furnished cabins 
opened onto her eleven decks, and some of these decks were 
reserved as private promenades that were engaged with the 
best suites. One of these suites was sold for $4350 for the 
boat's maiden and only voyage. Suites similar, but which 
were without the private promenade decks, sold for $2300. 

The Titanic differed in some respects from her sister ship. 
The Olympic has a lower promenade deck, but in the Titanic's 
ease the staterooms were brought out flush with the outside 



THE MOST SUMPTUOUS PALACE AFLOAT 181 

of the superstructure, and the rooms themselves made much 
larger. The sitting rooms of some of the suites on this deck 
were 15 x 15 feet. 

The restaurant was much larger than that of the Olympic 
and it had a novelty in the shape of a private promenade deck 
on the starboard side, to be used exclusively by its patrons. 
Adjoining it was a reception room, where hosts and hostesses 
could meet their guests. 

Two private promenades were connected with the two most 
luxurious suites on the ship. The suites were situated about 
amidships, one on either side of the vessel, and each was about 
fifty feet long. One of the suites comprised a sitting room, 
two bedrooms and a bath. 

These private promenades were expensive luxuries. The 
cost figured out something like forty dollars a front foot for 
a six days' voyage. They, with the suites to which they are 
attached, were the most expensive transatlantic accommoda- 
■^ions vet offered. 



THE ENGINE ROOM 

The engine room was divided into two sections, one given 
to the reciprocating engines and the other to the turbines. 
There were two sets of the reciprocating kind, one working each 
of the wing propellers through a four-cylinder triple expansion, 
direct acting inverted engine. Each set could generate 15,000 
indicated horse-power at seventy-five revolutions a minute. 
The Parsons type turbine takes steam from ^.he reciprocating 



182 THE MOST SUMPTUOUS MLACE AFLOAT 

engines, and by developing a horse-power of 16,000 at 165 
revolutions a minute works the third of the ship's propellers, 
the one directly under the rudder. Of the four funnels of the 
vessel three were connected with the engine room, and the 
fourth or after funnel for ventilating the ship including the 
gallery. 

Practically all of the space on the Titanic below the upper 
deck was occupied by steam-generating plant, coal bunkers 
and propelling machinery. Eight of the fifteen water-tight com- 
partments contained the mechanical part of the vessel. There 
were, for instance, twenty-four double end and five single end 
boilers, each 16 feet 9 inches in diameter, the larger 20 feet long 
and the smaller 11 feet 9 inches long. The larger boilers had 
six fires under each of them and the smaller three furnaces. 
Coal was stored in bunker space along the side of the ship 
between the lower and middle decks, and was first shipped 
from there into bunkers running all the way across the vessel 
In the lowest part. From there the stokers handed it into 
the furnaces. 

One of the most interesting features of the vessel was the 
refrigerating plant, which comprised a huge ice-making and 
refrigerating machine and a number of provision rooms on the 
after part of the lower and orlop decks. There were separate 
cold rooms for beef, mutton, poultry, game, fish, vegetables, 
fruity butter, bacon, cheese, flowers, mineral water, wine, 
spirits and champagne, all maintained at different temperatures 
most suitable to each. Perishable freight had a compartment 
of its own, also chilled by the plant. 



THE MOST SUMPTUOUS PALACE AFLOAT 183 

COMFORT AND STABILITY 

Two main ideas were carried out in the Titanic. One was 
comfort and the other stability. The vessel was planned to be 
an ocean ferry. She was to have only a speed of twenty-one 
knots, far below that of some other modern vessels, but she was 
planned to make that speed, blow high or blow low, so that 
if she left one side of the ocean at a given time she could be 
relied on to reach the other side at almost a certain minute 
of a certain hour. 

One who has looked into modern methods for safeguarding 




UFE-BOAT AND DAVITS ON THE TITANIC 

This diagram shows very clearly the arrangement of the life-boats and 
the manner in which they were launched. 



a vessel of the Titanic type can hardly imagine an accidem? 
that could cause her to founder. No collision such as has 
been the fate of any ship in recent years, it has been thought 
up to this time, could send her down, nor could running against 
an iceberg do it unless such an accident were coupled with 
the remotely possible blowing out of a boiler. She would 
sink at once, probably, if she were to run over a submerged 
rock or derelict in such manner that both her keel plates and 



184 THE MOST SUMPTUOUS PALACE . AFLOAT 

her double bottom were torn away for more ithan, ,half her 
length; but such a catastrophe was so remotely possible that 
it did not even enter the field of conjecture. 

The reason for all this is found in the modern arrangement 
of water-tight steel compartments into which all ships now 
are divided and of which the Titanic had fifteen so disposed 
that half of them, including the largest, could be flooded 
without impairing the safety of the vessel. Probably it was 
the working of these bulkheads and the water-tight doors 
between them as they are supposed to work that saved the 
Titanic from foundering when she struck the iceberg. 

These bulkheads were of heavy sheet steel and started at the 
very bottom of the ship and extended right up to the top side. 
The openings in the bulkheads were just about the size of the 
ordinary doorway, but the doors did not swing as in a house, 
but fitted into water-tight grooves above the opening. They 
could be released instantly in several ways, and once closed 
formed a barrier to the water as solid as the bulkhead itself. 

In the Titanic, as in other great modern ships, these doors 
were held in place above the openings by friction clutches. 
On the bridge was a switch which connected with an electric 
magnet at the side of the bulkhead opening. The turning 
of this switch caused the magnet to draw down a heavy weight, 
which instantly released the friction clutch, and allowed the 
door to fall or slide down over the opening in a second. If, 
however, through accident the bridge switch was rendered use- 
less the doors would close automatically in a few seconds. 
This was arranged by means of large metal floats at the side 




Copyright by Underzvood & Underwood, N. Y. 






'i,^»c^J^^ 







Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y. 

LIFE-BOATS AS SEEN FROM THE CARPATHIA 
Photographs taken from the rescue ship as she reached the first boats 
carrying the Titanic's sufferers. 




CORNER OF THE MAIN SALOON 

Showing the well and dome from the cafe, and giving an idea of the 
beautiful decorations on the lost liner. 



THE MOST SUMPTUOUS PALACE AFLOAT 186 

of the doorways, which rested just above the level of the 
double bottom, and as the water entered the compartments 
these floats would rise to it and directly release the clutch 
holding the door open. These clutches could also be 
released by hand. 

It was said of the Titanic that her compartments could be 
flooded as far back or as far forward as the engine room and 
she would float, though she might take on a heavy list, or 
settle considerably at one end. To provide against just such 
an accident as she is said to have encountered she had set back 
a good distance from the bows an extra heavy cross partition 
known as the collision bulkhead, which would prevent water 
getting in amidships, even though a good part of her bow should 
be torn away. What a ship can stand and still float was 
shown a few years ago when the Suevic of the White Star 
Line went on the rocks on the British coast. The wreckers 
could not move the forward part of her, so they separated her 
into two sections by the use of dynamite, and after putting 
In a temporary bulkhead floated off th<e after half of the ship, 
put it in dry dock and built a new forward part for her. More 
recently the battleship Maine, or what was left of her, was 
floated out to sea, and kept on top of the water by her water- 
tight compartments only. 



CHAPTER XXn 

The Titanic Strikes an Iceberg! 

tardy attention to warning responsible for accident-^ 
the danger not realized at first — an interrupted 

CARD GAME — PASSIbNGERS JOKE AMONG THEMSELVES — THE 
REAL TRUTH DAWNS — ^PANIC ON BOARD — ^WIRELESS CALLS 
FOR HELP 

SUNDAY night the magnificent ocean liner was plunging 
through a comparatively placid sea, on the surface 
of which there was much mushy ice and here and 
there a number of comparatively harmless-looking floes. 
The night was clear and stars visible. First Ofllcer "William 
T. Murdock was in charge of the bridge. The first intimation 
of the presence of the iceberg that he received was from the 
lookout in the crow's nest. 

Three warnings were transmitted from the crow's nest 
of the Titanic to the officer on the doomed steamship's bridge 
15 minutes before she struck, according to Thomas Whiteley, 
a first saloon steward, ^ - '. ' 

Whiteley, who was whipped overboard from the ship by a 
rope while helping to lower a life-boat, finally reported on the 
Carpathia aboard one of the boats that contained, he said, 

186 



THE TITANIC STRIKES AN ICEBERG! 187 

both the crow's nest lookouts. He heard a conversation be- 
tween them, he asserted, in which they discussed the warn- 
ings given to the Titanic's bridge of the presence of the ice- 
berg. 

Whiteley did not know the names of either of the lookout 
men and believed that they returned to England with the 
majority of the surviving members of the crewo 




A GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION OF THE FORCE WITH WHICH A 
VESSEL STRIKES AN ICEBERG 



*^I heard one of them say that at 11.15 o'clock, 15 minutes 
before the Titanic struck, he had reported to First Officer 
Murdock, on the bridge, that he fancied he saw an iceberg," 
said Whiteley. " Twice after that, the lookout said, he warned 
Murdock that a berg was ahead. They were very indignant 
that no attention was paid to their warnings.'* 



188 THE TITANIC STRIKES AN ICEBERG I 

TARDY ATTENTION TO WARNING RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDEFT 

Murdock's tardy answering of a telephone call from the 
crow's nest is assigned by Whiteley as the cause of the 
disaster. 

When Murdock answered the call he received the inform- 
ation that the iceberg was due ahead. This information was 
imparted just a few seconds before the crash, and had the 
officer promptly answered the ring of the bell it is probable that 
the accident could have been avoided, or at least, been reduced 
by the lowered speed. 

The lookout saw a towering "blue berg" looming up in the 
sea path of the Titanic, and called the bridge on the ship's 
telephone. When, after the passing of those two or three 
fateful minutes an officer on the bridge lifted the telephone 
receiver from its hook to answer the lookout, it was too late. 
The speeding liner, cleaving a cahn sea under a star-studded 
sky, had reached the floating mountain of ice, which the theo- 
retically "unsinkable" ship struck a crashing, if glancing, 
blow with her starboard bow. 

MURDOCK PAID WITH LIFE 

Had Murdock, according to the account of the tragedy 
given by two of the Titanic's seamen, loiown how imperative 
was that call from the lookout man, the men at the wheel 
of the liner might have swerved the great ship sufficiently 
to avoid the berg altogether. At the worst the vessel would 
probably have struck the mass of ice with her stern. 

Murdock, if the tale of the Titanic sailor be true, escpiated 



THE TITANIC STRIKES AN ICEBERG! 189 

his negligence by shooting himself within sight of all alleged 
victims huddled in Hfe-boats or struggling in the icy seas. 

When at last the danger was reaUzed, the great ship was 
so close upon the berg that it was practically impossible to 
avoid coUision with it. 



VAIN TRIAL TO CLEAR BERG 

The first officer did what other startled and alert com- 
manders would have done under similar circumstances, that is, 




THE LOCATION OF THE DISASTER 



he made an effort by going full speed ahead on the starboard 
propeller and reversing his port propeller, simultaneously 
throwing his helm over, to make a rapid turn and clear the 
berg. The maneuver was not successful. He succeeded in 



190 THE TITANIC STRIKES AN ICEBERG! 

saving his bows from crashing into the ice-cliff, but nearly 
the entire leijgth of the underbody of the great ship on the 
starboard side was ripped. The speed of the Titanic, esti- 
mated to be at least t^^enty-one knots, was so terrific that 
the knife-hke edge of the iceberg^s spur protruding under 
the sea cut through her hke a can-opener. 

The Titanic was in 41.46 north latitude and 50.14 west 
longitude when she was struck, very near the spot on the 
wide Atlantic where the Carmania encountered a field of ice, 
studded with great bergs, on her voyage to New York which 
ended on April 14th. It was really an ice pack, due to an un- 
usually severe winter in the north Atlantic, No less than 
twenty-five bergs, some of great height, were counted* 

The shock was almost imperceptible. The first officer di4 
not apparently realize that the great ship had received hex 
death wound, and none of the passengers had the sHghtest 
suspicion that anjrthing more than a usual minor sea accident 
had happened. . Hundreds who had gone to their berths and 
were asleep were unawakened by the vibration. 

BRIDGE GAME NOT DISTURBED 

To illustrate the placidity with which practically all the 
men regarded the accident it is related that Pierre Marechal, 
son of the vice-admiral of the French navy, Lucien Smith, 
Paul Chevr^, a French sculptor, and A. F. Ormont, a cotton 
broker, were in the Caf6 Parisien playing bridge. 

The four calmly got up from the table and, after walking 
■on deck and looking over the rail returned to their gameo 



THE TITANIC STRIKES AN ICEBERG! 191 

One of them had left his cigar on the card table, and while 
the three others were gazing out on the sea he remarked 
that he couldn't afford to lose his smoke, returned for his 
cigar and came out again. 

They remained only for a few moments on deck, and then 
resumed their game under the impression that the ship had 
stopped for reasons best known to the captain and not in- 
volving any danger to her. Later, in describing the scene 
that took place, M. Marechal, who was among the survivors, 
said: ''When three-quarters of a mile away we stopped, 
the spectacle before our eyes was in its way magnificent. 
In a very calm sea, beneath a sky moonless but sown with 
millions of stars, the enormous Titanic lay on the water, 
illuminated from the water line to the boat deck. The bow 
was slowly sinking into the black water." 

The tendency of the whole ship's company except the men 
in the engine department, who were made aware of the dan- 
ger by the inrushing water, was to make light of and in some 
instances even to ridicule the thought of danger to so sub- 
stantial a fabric. 

THE CAPTAIN ON DECK 

When Captain Smith came from the chart room onto the 
bridge, his first words were, "Close the emergency doors." 

"They're already closed, sir," Mr. Murdock repUed. 

"Send to the carpenter and tell him to sound the ship," 
was the next order. The message was sent to the carpenter, 
but the carpenter never came up to reporto He was probably 
the first man on the ship to lose his lifeo 



192 THE TITANIC STRIKES AN ICEBERG! ' 

The captain then looked at the communicator, which 
shows in what direction the ship is listing. He saw that she 
carried five degrees list to starboard. 

The ship was then rapidly settling forward. All the steam 
sirens were blowing. By the captain's orders, given in the 
next few minutes, the engines were put to work at pumping 
out the ship, distress signals were sent by the Marconi, and 
rockets were sent up from the bridge by Quartermastf^r Rowe. 
All hands were ordered on deck. 

PASSENGERS NOT ALARMED 

The blasting shriek of the sirens had not alarmed the great 
company of the Titanic, because such steam calls are an inci- 
dent of travel in seas where fogs roll. Many had gone 
to bed, but the hour, 11.40 p. m., was not too late for the 
friendly contact of saloons and smoking rooms. It was 
Sunday night and the ship's concert had ended, but there were 
many hundreds up and moving among the gay lights, and 
many on deck with their eyes strained toward the mysterious 
west, where home lay. And in one jarring, breath-sweeping 
moment all of these, asleep or awake, were at the mercy of 
chance. Few among the more than 2000 aboard could have 
had a thought of danger. The man who had stood up in the 
smoking room to say that the Titanic was vulnerable or that 
in a few minutes two-thirds of her people would be face to 
face with death, would have been considered a fool or a 
lunatic. No ship ever sailed the seas that gave her passengers 
more confidence, more cool securityo 



THE TITANIC STRIKES AN ICEBERG I 193 

Within a few minutes stewards and other members of the 
crew were sent round to arouse the people. Some utterly- 
refused to get up. The stewards had almost to force the doors 
of the staterooms to make the somnolent appreciate their 
peril, and many of them, it is believed, were drowned like 
rats in a trap. 

ASTOR AND WIFE STROLLED ON DECK 

Colonel and Mrs. Astor were in their room and saw the 
ice vision flash by. They had not appreciably felt the gentle 
shock and supposed that nothing out of the ordinary had 
happened. They were both dressed and came on deck leis- 
urely. William T. Stead, the London journalist, wandered 
on deck for a few minutes, stopping to talk to Frank Millet. 
''What do they say is the trouble?" he asked. "Icebergs,'' 
was the brief reply. "Well, " said Stead, " I guess it is nothing 
serious. I'm going back to my cabin to read. " 

from end to end on the mighty boat officers were rushing 
about without much noise or confusion, but giving orders 
sharply. Captain Smith told the third officer to rush down- 
stairs and see whether the water was coming in very fast. 
"And," he added, "take some armed guards along to see 
that the stokers and engineers stay at their posts." 

In two minutes the officer returned. "It looks pretty 
bad, sir," he said. "The water is rushing in and filling the 
bottom. The locks of the water-tight compartments have 
been sprung by the shock." 

" Give the command for all passengers to be on deck with 
life-belts on„" 

13 



194 THE TITANIC STRIKES AN ICEBERG! 

Through the length and breadth of the boat, upstairs and 
downstairs, on all decks, the cry rang out: "All passengers 
on deck with life-preservers." 

A SUDDEN TREMOR OF PEAR 

For the first time, there was a feeling of panic. Husbands 
sought for wives and children. Families gathered together. 
Many who were asleep hastily caught up their clothing and 
rushed on deck. A moment before the men had been joking 
about the life-belts, according to the story told by Mrs. 
Vera Dick, of Calgary, Canada. "Try this one," one man 
said to her, "they are the very latest thing this season. 
Everybody's wearing them now." 

Another man suggested to a woman friend, who had a 
fox terrier in her arms, that she should put a life-saver on 
the dog. "It won't fit," the woman replied, laughing. 
"Make him carry it in his mouth," said the friend. 

CONFUSION AMONG THE IMMIGRANTS 

Below, on the steerage deck, there was intense confusion. 
About the time the officers on the first deck gave the order 
that all men should stand to one side and aU women should 
go below to deck B, taking the children with them, a similar 
order was given to the steerage passengers. The women 
were ordered to the front, the men to the rear. Half a dozen 
healthy, husky immigrants pushed their way forward and tried 
to crowd into the first boat. 

"Stand back," shouted the officers who were maiming the 
boato "The women come first o" 



THE TITANIC STEIKES AN ICEBERG! 195 

Shouting curses in various foreign languages, the immi- 
grant men continued their pushing and tugging to climb 
into the boats. Shots rang out. One big fellow fell over the 
raiUng into the water. Another dropped to the deck, moaning. 
His jaw had been shot away. This was the story told by the 
bystanders afterwards on the pier. One husky Itahan told 
the writer on the pier that the way in which the men were 
shot down was horrible. His sympathy was with the men 
who were shot. 

''They were only trying to save their lives*" he said. 

WIRELESS OPERATOR DIED AT HIS POST 

On board the Titanic, the wireless operator, with a life-belt 
about his waist, was hitting the instrument that was sending 
out C. Q. D., messages, "Struck on iceberg, C. Q. D." 

''Shall I tell captain to turn back and help?'' flashed a 
reply from the Carpathia. 

"Yes, old man," the Titanic wireless operator responded. 
'^ Guess we're sinking." 

An hour later, when the second wireless man came into the 
boxlike room to tell his companion what the situation was, 
he found a negro stoker creeping up behind the operator and 
saw him raise a knife over his head. He said afterwards — he 
was among those rescued — ^that he reahzed at once that the 
negro intended to kill the operator in order to take his life- 
belt from him. The second opei;ator pulled out his revolver 
and shot the negro dead. 

"What was the trouble?" asked the operatofo 



196 THE TITANIC STRIKES AN ICEBERG! 

"That negro was going to kill you and steal your life-belt," 
the second man replied. _ 

''Thanks, old man," said the operator. The second man 
went on deck to get some more information. He was just in 
time to jump overboard before the Titanic went down. The 
wireless operator and the body of the negro who tried to steal 
his belt went down together. 

On the deck where the first class passengers were quartered, 
known as deck A, there was none of the confusion that was 
taking place on the lower decks. The Titanic was standing 
without much rocking. The captain had given an order and 
the band was playing. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

"Women and Children First!" 

cool-headed officers and crew bring order out of 
chaos — spilling the life-boats — ^heartrending scenes 
as families are parted — ^four life-boats lost — ^inci- 
DENTS OF BRAVERY — "tHE BOATS ARE ALL FILLED !" 

ONCE on the deck, many hesitated to enter the 
swinging Hfe-boats. The glassy sea, the starlit 
sky, the absence, in the first few moments, of 
intense excitement, gave them the feeling that there was 
only some slight mishap; that those who got into the boats 
would have a chilly half hour below and might, later, be 
laughed at. 

It was such a feeling as this, from all accounts, which 
caused John Jacob Astor and his wife to refuse the places 
offered them in the first boat, and to retire to the gymnasium. 
In the same way H. J. Allison, a Montreal banker, laughed at 
the warning, and his wife, reassured by him, took her time 
dressing. They and their daughter did not reach the Car- 
pathia. Their son, less than two years old, was carried into 
a life-boat by his nurse, and was taken in charge by Major 
Arthur Peuchen. 

197 



198 ^^WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!^' 

THE LIFE-BOATS LOWERED 

The admiration felt by the passengers and crew for the 
matchlessly appointed vessel was translated, in those first 
few moments, into a confidence which for some proved 
deadly. The pulsing of the engines had ceased, and the 
steamship lay just as though she were awaiting the order 
to go' on again after some trifling matter had been adjusted. 
But in a few minutes the canvas covers were lifted from 
the fife-boats and the crews allotted to each standing by, 
ready to lower them to the water. 

Nearly all the boats that were lowered on the port side 
of the ship touched the water without capsizing. Four of 
the others lowered to starboard, including one collapsible, 
were capsized. All, however, who were in the collapsible 
boats that practically went to pieces, were rescued by the 
other boats. 

Presently the order was heard: "All men stand back and 
all women retire to the deck below." That was the smoking- 
room deck, or the B deck. The men stood away and remained 
in absolute silence, leaning against the rail or pacing up and 
down the deck slowly. Many of them lighted cigars or ciga- 
rettes and began to smoke. 

LOADING THE BOATS 

The boats were swimg out and lowered from the A deck 
above. The women were marshaled quietly in lines along 
the B deck, and when the boats were lowered down to the 
level of the latter the women were assisted to climb into them. 



-^^ WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRSTF^ 199 

As each of the boats was filled with its quota of passengers 
the word was given and it was carefully lowered down to the 
dark surface of the water. 

Nobody seemed to know how Mr. Ismay got into a boat, 
but it was assumed that he wished to make a presentation of 
the case of the Titanic to his company. He was among those 
who apparently realized that the splendid ship was doomed. 
All hands in the life-boats, under instructions from ojficers 
and men in charge, were rowed a considerable distance from 
the ship herseK in order to get far away from the possible 
suction that would f oUow her foundering. 

COOLEST MEN ON BOAED 

Captain Smith and Major Archibald Butt, military aide to 
the President of the United States, were among the coolest 
men on board. A number of steerage passengers were 
yelling and screaming and fighting to get to the boats- 
Officers drew guns and told them that if they moved towards 
the boats they would be shot dead. Major Butt had a gun 
in his hand and covered the men who tried to get to the boats. 

The following story of his bravery was told by Mrs. Henry 
B. Harris, wife of the theatrical manager: 

''The world should rise in praise of Major Butt. That 
man's conduct will remain in my memory forever. The Ameri- 
can army is honored by him and the way he taught some of 
the other men how to behave when women and children were 
suffering that awful mental fear of death. Major Butt was 
near me and I noticed everything that he did , 



200 "WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!" 

"When the order to man the boats came, the captain whis- 
pered something to Major Butt. The two of them had become 
friends. The major immediately became as one in supreme 
command. You would have thought he was at a White 
House reception. A dozen or more women became hysterical 
all at once, as something connected with a life-boat went 
wrong. Major Butt stepped over to them and said: 

"'ReaUy, you must not act like that; we are all going to 
see you through this thing.' He helped the sailors rearrange 
the rope or chain that had gone wrong and lifted some of the 
women in with a touch of gallantry. Not only was there a 
complete lack of any fear in his manner, but there was the 
action of an aristocrat. 

"When the time came he was a man to be feared. In one 
of the earlier boats fifty women, it seemed, were about to 
be lowered, when a man, suddenly panic-stricken, ran to the 
stern of it. Major Butt shot one arm out, caught him by 
the back of the neck and jerked him backward hke a pillow, 
His head cracked against a rail and he was stunned. 

"'Sony,' said Major Butt, 'women will be attended to 
first or I'll break every damned bone in your body.' 

FORCED MEN USURPING PLACES TO VACATE 

"The boats were lowered one by one, and as I stood by, my 
husband said to me, 'Thank God, for Archie Butt.' Perhaps 
Major Butt heard it, for he turned his face towards us for a 
second and smiled. Just at that moment, a young man was 
arguing to get into a life-boat, and Major Butt had a hold 



CD 00* 




"WOMEN AND CHILDEEN FIUST!^^ 201 

of the lad by the arm, like a big brother, and was telling him 
to keep his head and be a man. 

"Major Butt helped those poor frightened steerage people 
so wonderfully, so tenderly and yet with such cool and manly 
firmness that he prevented the loss of many lives from panic. 
He was a soldier to the last. He was one of God's greatest 
noblemen, and I think I can say he was an example of brav- 
ery even to men on the ship.'* 

LAST WOEDS OF MAJOR BUTT 

Miss Marie Young, who was a music instructor to Presi- 
dent Roosevelt's children and had known Major Butt during 
the Roosevelt occupancy of the White House, told this 
story of his heroism. 

"Archie himself put me into the boat, wrapped blankets 
about me and tucked me in as carefully as if we were start- 
ing on a motor ride. He, himself, entered the boat with me, 
performing the little courtesies as calmly and with as smihng 
a face as if death were far away, instead of being but a few 
moments removed from him. 

"When he had carefully wrapped me up he stepped upon 
the gunwale of the boat, and lifting his hat, smiled down at 
me. 'Good-bye, Miss Young,' he said. 'Good luck to 
you, and don't forget to remember me to the folks back home.' 
Then he stepped back and waved his hand to me as the boat 
was lowered. I think I was the last woman he had a chance 
to help, for the boat went down shortly after we cleared the 
suction zone." 



202 ^'^WOMEN AN'D CHILDREN FIRST!^^ 

COLONEL ASTOR ANOTHER HERO 

Colonel Aster was another of the heroes of the awful night. 
Effort was made to persuade him to take a place in one of 
the life-boats, but he emphatically refused to do so until every 
woman and child on board had been provided for, not except- 
ing the women members of the ship's company. 

One of the passengers describing the consummate courage 
of Colonel Astor said: 

''He led Mrs. Astor to the side of the ship and helped her 
to the life-boat to which she had been assigned. I saw that 
she was prostrated and said she would remain and take her 
chances with him, but Colonel Astor quietly insisted and 
tried to reassure her in a few words. As she took her place 
in the boat her eyes were fixed upon him. Colonel Astor 
smiled, touched his cap, and when the boat moved safely 
away from the ship's side he turned back to his place among 
the men.'* 

Mrs. Ida S. Hippach and her daughter Jean, survivors of 
the Titanic, said they were saved by Colonel John Jacob 
Astor, who forced the crew of the last life-boat to wait for 
them. 

"We saw Colonel Astor place Mrs. Astor in a boat and 
assure her that he would follow later," said Mrs. Hippach. 

"He turned to us with a smile and said, 'Ladies, you are 
next.' The officer in charge of the boat protested that the 
craft was full, and the seamen started to lower it. 

"Colonel Astor exclaimed, 'Hold that boat,' in the voice 
of a man accustomed to be obeyed, and they did as he ordered 



WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!" 



203 



The boat had been lowered past the upper deck and the 
colonel took us to the deck below and put us in the boat, 
one after the other, through a port-hole." 




THE NATURE OF THE INJURY SUSTAINED BY THE TITANIC 



y 



204 "WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!" 

HEAET-BREAKING SCENES 

There were some terrible scenes. Fathers were parting from 
their children and giving them an encouraging pat on the 
shoulders; men were kissing their wives and telling them 
that they would be with them shortly. One man said there 
was absolutely no danger, that the boat was the finest ever 
built, with water-tight compartments, and that it could not 
sink. That seemed to be the general impression. 

A few of the men, however, were panic-stricken even 
when the first of the fifty-six foot fife-boats was being filled. 
Fully ten men threw themselves into the boats already 
crowded with women and children. These men were dragged 
back and hurled sprawfing across the deck. Six of them, 
screaming with fear, struggled to their feet and made a second 
attempt to rush to the boats. 

About ten shots sounded in quick succession. The six 
cowardly men were stopped in their tracks, staggered and 
collapsed one after another. At least two of them vainly 
attempted to creep toward the boats again. The others lay 
quite still. This scene of bloodshed served its purpose. 
In that particular section of the deck there was no further 
attempt to violate the rule of ''women and children first." 

''I helped fill the boats with women," said Thomas Whiteley, 
who was a waiter on the Titanic. "Collapsible boat No. 2 
on the starboard jammed. The second officer was hacking 
at the ropes with a knife and I was being dragged around the 
deck by that rope when I looked up and saw the boat, with all 
s^board, turn turtle. In some way I got overboard myself 



"WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!" 205 

and clung to an oak dresser. I wasn't more than sixty feet 
from the Titanic when she went down. Her big stern rose 
up in the air and she went down bow first. I saw all the ma- 
chinery drop out of hero'* 

HENRY B. HARRIS 

Henry B. Harris, of New York, a theatrical manager, was 
one of the men who showed superb courage in the crisis. 
When the life-boats were first being filled, and before there 
was any panic, Mr. Harris went to the side of his wife before 
the boat was lowered away. 

''Women first," shouted one of the ship's officers. Mr. 
Harris glanced up and saw that the remark was addressed 
to him. 

"All right," he replied coolly. ''Good-bye, my dear," 
he said, as he kissed his wife, pressed her a moment to his 
breast, and then climbed back to the Titanic's deck. 

THREE EXt'LOSIONS 

up to this time there had been no panic; but about one hour 
before the ship plunged to the bottom- there were three 
separate explosions of bulklieads as the vessel filled. 
These were at intervals of about fifteen minutes. From that 
time there was a different scene. The rush for the iremain- 
Ing boats became a stampede. 

The stokers rushed up from below and tried to beat a path 
through the steerage men and women and through the sailors 
md officers, to get into the boats They had their iron bart 



I 

206 ''WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!" 

and shovels, and they struck down aU who stood in their 
way. 

The first to coiiio up from the depths of the ship was an 
engineer. From what he is reported to have said it is probable 
that the steam fittings were broken and many were scalded 
to death when the Titanic lifted. He said he had to dash 
through a narrow place beside a b/oken pipe and his back 
was frightfully scalded. 

Right at his heels came the stokers. The ofiicers had pistols, 
but they could not use them at first for fear of killing the 
women and children. The sailors fought with their fists and 
many of them took the stoke bars and shovels from the stokers 
and used them to beat back the others. 

Many of the coal-passers and stokers who had been driven 
back from the boats went to the rail, and whenever a boat was 
filled and lowered several of them jumped overboard and 
swam toward it trying to climb aboard. Several of the 
survivors said that men w^lio swam to the sides of their boats 
were pulled in or climbed in. 

Dozens of the cabin passengers were witnesses of some of the 
frightful scenes on the steerage deck. The steerage sur- 
vivors said that ten women from the upper decks were the 
only cool passengers in the life-boat, and they tried to quiet the 
steerage women, who were nearly all crazed with fear and grief. 

OTHER HEROES 

Among the chivalrous young heroes of the Titanic disaster 
were Washington A. Roebling, 2d, and How^ard Case, London 
representative of the Vacuum Oil Company. Both were 



^'WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!^^ 207' 

urged repeatedly to take places in life-boats, but scorned the 
opportunity, while working against time to save the women 
aboard the ill-fated ship. They went to their death, it is 
said by survivors, with smiles on their faces. 

Both of these young men aided in the saving of Mrs. William 
T. Graham, wife of the president of the American Can Com- 
pany, and Mrs. Graham's nineteen-year-old daughter, Mar- 
garet. 

Afterwards relating some of her experiences Mrs. Graham 
said: 

"There was a rap at the door. It was a passenger whom 
we had met shortly after the ship left Liverpool, and his name 
was Roebling — ^Washington A. Roebling, 2d. He was a 
gentleman and a brave man. He warned us of the danger and 
told us that it would be best to be prepared for an emergency. 
We heeded his warning, and I looked out of my window and 
saw a great big iceberg facing us. Immediately I knew what 
had happened and we lost no time after that to get out into 
the saloon. 

''In one of the gangways I met an officer of the ship. 

'' 'What is the matter?' I asked him. 

" 'We've only burst two pipes,' he said. 'Everything is 
all right, don't worry.' 

" 'But what makes the ship Hst so?' I asked. 

" 'Oh, that's nothing,' he rephed, and walked away. 

"Mr. Case advised us to get into a boat. 

" 'And what are you going to do?' we asked him. 

" 'Oh,' he replied, 'I'll take a chance and stay here.' 



208 ^* WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST! ^* 

'^Just at that time they were Ming up the third Hfe-boat 
on the port side of the ship, I thought at the time that it 
was the third boat which had been lowered, but I found out 
later that they had lowered other boats on the other side, 
where the people were more excited because they were sinking 
on that side. 

*'Just then Mr. Roebling came up, too, and told us to 
hurry and get into the third boato Mr, Roebling and Mr. 
Case bustled our party of three into that boat in less time than 
it takes to tell it. They were both working hard to help the 
women and children. The boat was fairly crowded when we 
three were pushed into it, and a few men jumped in at the last 
moment, but Mr. Roebling and Mr. Case stood at the rail 
and made no attempt to get into the boato 

"They shouted good-bye to us. What do you think Mr, 
Case did then? He just calmly lighted a cigarette and waved 
us good-bye with his hand. Mr. Roebling stood there, too — 
I can see him now. I am sure that he knew that the ship 
would go to the bottom. But both just stood there." 

IN THE FACE OF DEATH 

Scenes on the sinking vessel grew more tragic as the remam= 
ing passengers faced the awful certainty that death must be the 
portion of the majority, death in the darkness of a wintry sea 
studded with its ice monuments like the marble shafts in 
some vast cemetery. 

In that hour, when cherished illusions of possible safety 



'^^WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRSTF^^ 209 

Titanic rose to their sublimest heightSc It was in that crisis 
of the direst extremity that many brave women deliberately 
B rejected life and chose rather to remain and die with the men 
whom they lovedo 

DEATH FAILS TO PART MRo AND MRS, STRAUS 

''I will not leave my husband/' said Mrs. Isidor Straus. 
^'We are old; we can best die together/' and she turned from 
those who would have forced her into one of the boats and 
clung to the man who had been the partner of her joys and 
sorrows. Thus they stood hand in hand and heart to heart, 
comforting each other until the sea claimed them, united in 
death as they had been through a long life, 

^'Greater love hath no man than this^ that a man lay down his 
life for his friends J^ 

Miss Elizabeth Evans fulfilled this final test of affection 
laid down by the Divine Master. The girl was the niece of 
the wife of Magistrate Cornell, of New York. She was placed 
in the same boat with many other women. As it was about 
to be lowered away it was found that the craft contained one 
more than its full quota of passengers. 

The grim question arose as to which of them should sur= 
render her place and her chance of safety. Beside Miss 
Evans sat Mrs. J. J. Brown, of Denver, the mother of several 
children. Miss Evans was the first to volunteer to yield to 
another, 

GIRL STEPS BACK TO DOOM 

*' Your need is greater than mine," said she to Mrs. Brown, 
**You have children who need you^ and I have none," 

14 



210 "WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!" 

So saying she arose from the boat and stepped back upon 
the deck. The girl found no later refuge and was one of those 
who went down with the ship. She was twenty-five years 
old and was beloved by all who knew her. 

Mrs. Brown thereafter showed the spirit which had made 
her also volunteer to leave the boat. There were only three 
men in the boat and but one of them rowed. Mrs. BroT\Ti, 
who was raised on the water, immediately picked up one 
of the heavy sweeps and began to puU. 

In the boat which carried Mrs. Cornell and Mrs. Apple- 
ton there were places for seventeen more than were carried. 
This too was undermanned and the two women at once took 
their places at the oars. 

The Countess of Rothes was pulling at the oars of her 
boat, likewise undermanned because the crew preferred to 
stay behind. 

Miss Bentham, of Rochester, showed splendid courage. 
She happened to be in a life-boat which was very much 
crowded — so much so that one sailor had to sit with his feet 
dangling in the icy cold water, and as time went on the suffer- 
ings of the man from the cold were apparent. Miss Bentham | 
arose from her place and had the man turn around while 
she took her place with her feet in the water. 

Scarcely any of the life-boats were properly manned. 
Two, filled with women and children, capsized immediately, 
while the collapsible boats were only temporarily useful. 
They soon filled with water. In one boat eighteen or 
twenty persons sat in water above their knees for six hours. 



'^^' WOMEN AND CHILDBEN FIRST! ''^ 211 

Eight men in this boat were overcome, died and were 
thrown overboard. Two women were in this boat, and one 
succumbed after a few hours and one was saved. 

The accident was reported as entirely the result of care- 
lessness and lack of necessary equipment. There were boats 
for only one third of the passengers, there were no search 
lights; the Ufe-boats were not supplied with food or safety 
appUances; there were no lanterns on the Hfe-boats; there 
was no way to raise sails, as there was no one who under- 
stood managing a sailboato 

Mrs. Hogeboom explained that the new equipment of masts 
and sails in the boats was carefuUy wrapped and bound with 
twine. The men undertook to unfasten them, but found 
it necessary to cut the ropes. They had no knives, and in 
their frenzy they went about asking the ill-clad women if 
they had knives. The sails were never hoisted, 

THE MONEY BOAT 

'Thomas Whiteley, a first saloon steward^ in telling of 
various experiences of the disaster that had come to his 
knowledge, said that on one of the first boats lowered the 
only passengers aboard were a man whom he was told was 
an American miUionaire, his wife, child and two valets. The 
others in the boat were firemen and coal trimmers, he said, 
seven in number, whom the man had promised to pay v/ell 
if they would man th^ life-boat. They made only thirt<jen 
in all. 

'^1 d© not know the man's name," said WMtel^. '-I 



212 , ^'WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!'^ 

heard it, but have forgotten it. But I saw an order for five 
pounds which this man gave to each of the crew of his boat 
after they got aboard the Carpathia. It was on a piece of 
ordinary paper addressed to the Coutts Bank of England. 

"We caUed that boat the 'money boat.' It was lowered 
from the starboard side and was one of the first off. Our 
orders were to load the life-boats beginning forward on the 
port side, working aft and then back on the f larboard. 
This man paid the firemen to lower a starboard boat before 
the oflScers had given the order." 

Whiteley's own experience was a hard one. When the 
uncoiling rope, which entangled his feet, threw him into the 
sea, it furrowed the flesh of his leg, but he did not feel the 
pain until he was safe aboard the Carpathia. 

"I floated on my life-preserver for several hours," he said, 
''then I came across a big oak dresser with two men cling- 
ing to it. I hung on to this till daybreak and the two men 
dropped off. When the sun came up I saw the collapsible 
raft in the distance, just black with men. They were aU 
standing up, and I swam to it — almost a mile, it seemed to me 
— and they would not let me aboard. Mr. Lightoller, the 
second officer, was one of them, 

"'It's thirty-one lives against yours,' he said, 'you can't 
come aboard. There's not room.'" 

"I pleaded with him in vain, and then I confess I prayed 
that somebody might die, so I could take his place. It was 
only human. And then some one did die, and they let m@ 



'^ WOMEN AND^CHILDREN FIRST!" 213 

"By and by, we saw seven life-boats lashed together, and 
we were taken into them." 

MEN SHOT DOWN 

The officers had to assert their authority by force, and three 
foreigners from the steerage who tried to force their way in 
among the women and children were shot down without 
mercy. 

Robert Daniel, a Philadelphia passenger, told of terrible 
scenes at this period of the disaster. He said men fought 
and bit and struck one another hke madmen, and exhibited 
wounds upon his face to prove the assertion. Mr. Daniel 
said that he was picked up naked from the ice-cold water 
and almost perished from exposure before he was rescued. 
He and others told how the Titanic's bow was completely 
torn away by the impact with the berg. 

K. Whiteman, of Palmjrra, N. J., the Titanic's barber, 
was lowering boats on deck after the collision, and declared 
the officers on the bridge, one of them First Officer Murdock, 
promptly worked the electrical apparatus for closing the water- 
tight compartments. He believed the machinery was in some 
way so damaged by the crash that the front compartments 
failed to close tightly, although the rear ones were secure. 

Whiteman's manner of escape was unique. He was blown 
off the deck by the second of the two explosions of the boilers, 
and was in the water more than two hours before he was 
picked up by a raft. 

"The explosions," Whiteman said, "were caused by the 



M4 "WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIBST!" 

rushing in of the icy water on the boilers. A bundle of deck 
chairs, roped together, was blown off the deck with me, and I 
struck my back, injuring my spine, but it served as a temporary 
raft. 

? ''The crew and passengers had faith in the bulkhead sys- 
tem to save the ship and we were lowering a collapsible boat, 
aU confident the ship would get through, when she took a 
terrific dip forward and the water swept over the deck and 
into the engine rooms. 

'^The bow went clean down, and I caught the pile of chairs 
as I was washed up against the rim. Then came the explo- 
sions which blew me fifteen feet. 

"After the water had filled the forward compartments, 
the ones at the stem could not save her, although they did 
delay the ship's going down. If it wasn't for the compart- 
ments hardly anyone could have got away." 

A SAD MESSAGE 

One of the Titanic's stewards, Johnson by name, carried 
this message to the sorrowing widow of Benjamin Guggenheim: 
• "When Mr. Guggenheim reaHzed that there was grave 
danger," said the room steward, "he advised his secretary, 
who also died, to dress fuUy and he himself did the same. 
Mr. Guggenheim, who was cool and collected as he was pulling 
on his outer garments, said to the steward: — 

PREPARED TO DIE BRAVELY 

"'I think there is grave doubt that the men will get off 
safely. I am willing to remain and play the man's game, if 



there are not enough boats for » ore than the women and cMl° 
dren. I won't die here like a beast. I'll meet my end as & 
man,' 

''There was a pause and then Mr. Guggenheim continued: 

" 'Tell my wife, Johnson, if it should happen that my secre- 
tary and I both go down and you are saved, tell her I played 
the game out straight and to the end. No woman shall be 
left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward. 

'' 'Tell her that my last thoughts will be of her and of our 
girls, but that my duty now is to these unfortunate women 
and children on this ship. Tell her I will meet whatever fate 
is in store for me, knowing she will approve of what I do.' " 

In telling the story the room steward said the last he saw 
of Mr, Guggenheim was when he stood fully dressed upon 
the upper deck talking calmly with Colonel Astor and Major 
Butt. 

Before the last of the boats got away, according to some of 
the passengers' narratives, there were more than fifty shots 
fired upon the decks by officers or others in the effort to main- 
tain the discipHne that until then had been well preserved, 

THE SINKING VESSEL 

Richard Norris WiUiaPis, Jr., one ^i the survivors of the 
Titanic, saw his father killed by being crushed by one of the 
tremendous funnels of the sinking vessel. 

'*We stood on deck watching the life-boats of the Titanic 
being filled and lowered into the water," said Mr, WiUiams, 



216 "WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST! ^^ — 

about at her last. Suddenly one of the great funnels fell. 
I sprang aside, endeavoring to puU father with me. A 
moment later the funnel was swept overboard and the body 
of father went with it. 

"I sprang overboard and swam through the ice to a Ufe- 
raft, and was pulled aboard. There were five men and one 
woman on the raft. Occasionally we were swept off into the 
sea, but always managed to crawl back. 

"A sailor lighted a cigarette and flung the match carelessly 
among the women. Several screamed, fearing they would 
be set on fire. The sailor replied: ^ We are going to hell any- 
way and we might as well be cremated now as then.' " 

A huge cake of ice was the means of aiding Emile Por- 
taleppi, of Italy, in his hairbreadth escape from death when 
the Titanic went down. Portaleppi, a second class passenger, 
was awakened by the explosion of one of the bulkheads of 
the ship. He hurried to the deck, strapped a hfe-preserver 
around him and leaped into the sea. With the aid of the 
preserver and by holding to a cake of ice he managed to 
keep afloat until one of the life-boats picked him up. There 
were thirty-five other people in the boat, he said, when he was 
hauled aboard. 

THE COWARD 

Somewhere in the shadow of the appaUing Titanic disaster 
shnks — still living by the inexplicable grace of God — a cur 
in human shape, to-day the most despicable human being in 
all the world. 




A VIEW OF THE OLYMPIC 

The sister-ship of the Titanic, showing the damage done to her hull in 
the collision with British war vessel, Hawke, in the British Channel. 




VESSEL WITH BOTTOM OF HULL RIPPED OPEN 

A view of the torpedo destroyer Tiger, taken in drydock after her col- 
lision with the Portland Breakwater last September; the damage to the 
Tiger, which is plainly shown in the photograph, is of the same character, 
though on a smaller scale, as that which was done to the Titanic. 



"WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!" 217 

In that grim midnight horn*, akeady great in history, he 
found himself hemmed in by the band of heroes whose watch- 
word and countersign rang out across the deep — "Women 
and children first!" 

What did he do? He scuttled to the stateroom deck, put 
on a woman's skirt, a woman's hat and a woman's veil, and 
picking his crafty way back among the brave and chivalric 
men who guarded the rail of the doomed ship, he filched a 
seat in one of the fife-boats and saved his skin. 

His name is on that fist of branded rescued men who were 
neither picked up from the sea when the ship went down 
nor were in the boats under orders to help get them safe away. 
His identity is not yet known, though it wiU be in good time. 
So foul an act as that wiU out fike murder. 

The eyes of strong men who have read this crowded record 
of golden deeds, who have read and re-read that deathless 
roll of honor of the dead, are stiU wet with tears of pity and 
of pride. This man stiU fives. Surely he was bom and saved 
to set for men a new standard by which to measure infamy 
and shame. • 

1 It is well that there was sufficient heroism on board the 
Titanic to neutrafize the horrors of the cowardice. When 
the first order was given for the men to stand back, there were 
a dozen or more who pushed forward and said that men would 
be needed to row the life-boats and that they would volunteer 
for the work. 

The officers tried to pick out the ones that volunteered 
merely for service and to efiminate those who volunteered 



218 "WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!" 

merely to save their own lives TMs elimination process, 
however, was not wholly successful. 

THE DOOMED MEN 

As the ship began to settle to starboard, heehng at an angle 
of nearly forty-five degrees, those who had believed it was ail 
right to stick by the ship began to have doubts, and a few 
jumped into the sea. They were followed immediately by 
others, and in a few minutes there were scores swimming 
around. Nearly ail of them wore life-preservers. One man, 
who had a Pomeranian dog, leaped overboard with it and 
striking a piece of wreckage was badly stunned. He recovered 
after a few minutes and swam toward one of the life-boats 
and was taken aboard. 

Said one survivor, speaking of the men who remained on 
the ship: "There they stood— Major Butt, Colonel Astor 
waving a farewell to his^ wife; Mr. Thayer, Mr. Case, 
Mr. Clarence Moore, Mr. Widener, aU multimillionaires, and 
hundreds of other men, bravely smiling at us all. Never have I 
seen such chivalry and fortitude. Such courago in the face of 
fate horrible to contemplate filled us even then with wonder 
and admiration." 

Why were men saved? ask others who seek to make the 
occasional male survivor a hissing scorn; and yet the testi- 
mony makes it clear that for a long time during that ordeal 
the more frightful position seemed to many to be in the frail 
boats in the vast relentless sea, and that some men had to be 
tumbled into the boats under orders from the officers. Others 



•^^ WOMEN AND CHILDREN FmST!-^" 219 

express the deepest indignation that 210 sailors were rescued | 
the testimony shows that most of these sailors were in the 
welter of ice and water into which they had been thrown from 
the ship's deck when she sank; they were human beings and 
so were picked up and savedc 

"women and children first" 

The one alleviating circumstance in the otherwise immiti- 
gable tragedy is the fact that so many of the men stood aside 
really with put the necessity for the order, "Women and 
children first, " and insisted that the weaker sex should first 
have places in the boatSo 

There were men whose word of command swayiscL boards 
of directors, governed institutions, disposed of miUions. They 
were accustomed merely to pronounce a wish to Lave it grati- 
fiedo Thousands ''posted at their bidding"; the complexion 
^ the market altered hue when they nodded; they bought 
jv^hat they wanted, and for one of the humblest fishing smacks 
or a dory they could have given the price that was paid to 
build and launch the ship that has become the most imposing 
mausoleum that ever housed the bones of men since the 
Pyramids rose from the desert sands. 

But these men stood aside — one can see them! — and gave 
place not merely to the dehcate and the refined, but to the 
scared Czech woman from the steerage, with her baby at her 
breast; the Croatian with a toddler by her side, coming 
through the very gate of Death and out of the mouth of Hell 
to the imagined Eden of America. 



220 'WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!" 

To many of those who went it was harder to go than to 
stay there on the vessel gaping with its mortal womids and 
ready to go down. It meant that tossing on the waters they 
must wait in suspense, hour after hour even after the lights of 
the ship were engulfed in appalling darkness, hoping against 
hope for the miracle of a rescue dearer to them than their 
own lives. 

It was the tradition of Anglo-Saxon heroism that was ful- 
filled in the frozen seas during the black hours of Sunday 
night. The heroism was that of the women who went^ as well 
as of the men who remained! 



CHAPTER XXIV 

Left to Their Fate 

coolness and heroism of those left to perish — suicide 
of murdock — captain smithes end — the ship's band 
plays a noble hymn as the vessel goes down 

THE general feeling aboard the ship after the boats 
had left her sides was that she would not survive 
her wound, but the passengers who remained aboard 
displayed the utmost heroism. 

William T. Stead, the famous English journalist, was so 
litt e alarmed that he calmly discussed with one of the pas- 
sengers the probable height of the iceberg after the Titanic 
had shot into it. 

Confidence in the ability of the Titanic to remain afloat 
doubtlessly led many of the passengers to death. The theory 
that the great ship was unsinkable remained with hundreds 
who had entrusted themselves to the gigantic hulk, long 
after the ofiicers knew that the vessel could not survive. 

The captain and oflacers behaved with superb gallantry, 
and there was perfect order and discipline among those who 
were aboard, even after all hope had been abandoned for the 
salvation of the ship. 

221 



222 LEFT TO THEIR FATE 

Many women went liown, steerage women who were miable 
to get to the upper decks where the boats were lamiched, 
maids who were overlooked in the confusion, cabin passengers 
who refused to desert their husbands or who reached the decks 
after the last of the life-boats was gone and the ship was 
settling for her final plunge to the bottom of the Atlantic. 

Narratives of survivors do not bear out the supposition 
that the final hours upon the vessel's decks were passed in 
darkness. They say the electric lighting plant held out 
until the last, and that even as they watched the ship sink, 
from their places in the floating life-boats, her lights were 
gleaming in long rows as she plunged under by the head. 
Just before she sank, some of the refugees say, the ship broke 
in two abaft the engine room after the bulkhead explosions 
had occurred. 

COLONEL ASTOr's DEATH 

To Colonel Astor's death Philip Mock bears this testimony: 

"•Many men were hanging on to rafts in the sea. Wil- 
liam T. Stead and Colonel Astor were among them. Their 
feet and hands froze and they had to let go. Both were 
drowned." 

The last man among the survivors to speak to Colonel 
Astor was K. Whiteman, the ship's barber. 

^^I shaved Colonel Astor Sunday afternoon," said White- 
man. "He was a pleasant, affable man, and that awful 
night when I found myself standing beside him on the pas- 
senger deck, helping to put the worsen into the boats, I 



LEFT TO THEIR FATE 22-3 

^'* Where is your life-belt?' I asked Mm, 

^'T didn't think there would be any need of it,' he said, 

"'Get one while there is time/ I told hinio ^The last boat 
is gone J and we are done for/ 

"'No/ he said, 'I think there are some life-boats to be 
launched, and we may get on one of them/ 

"'There are no life-rafts,' I told him, 'and the ship is going 
to sinke I am going to jump overboard and take a chance 
on swimming out and being picked up by one of the boats. 
Better come along/ 

"'No, thank you,' he said, calmly, 'I think I'll have to 
stick,' 

"I asked him if he would mind shaking hands with me. 
He said, 'With pleasure,' gave me a hearty grip, and then I 
climbed up on the rail and jumped overboard. I was in the 
water nearly four hours before one of the boats picked me up." 

CAPTAIN WASHED OVERBOARD 

Murdock's last orders were to Quartermaster Moody and 
a few other petty officers who had taken their places in the 
rigid discipHne of the ship and were lowering the boatSo 
Captain Smith came up to him on the bridge several times 
and then rushed down again. They spoke to one another 
only in monosyllableSo 

There were stories that Captain Smith, when he saw the 
ship actually going down, had committed suicide. There is 
no basis for such tales. The captain, according to the testi- 
mony of those who were near him almost until the last^ was 



224 LEFT TO THEIR FATE 

admirably cooL He carried a revolver in his hand, ready 
to use it on anyone who disobeyed orders. 

*'I want every man to act like a man for manhood's sake," 
he said, ''and if they don't, a bullet awaits the coward," 

With the revolver in his hand — a fact that undoubtedly 
gave rise to the suicide theory — the captain moved up and 
down the deck. He gave the order for each Hfe-boat to make 
off and he remained until every boat was gone. Standing 
on the bridge he finally called out the order: "Each man 
save himself." At that moment all discipline fled. It was 
the last call of death. If there had been any hope among 
those on board before, the hope now had fledo 

The bearded admiral of the White Star Line fleet, with 
every life-saving device launched from the decks, was return- 
ing to the deck to perform the sacred office of going down 
with his ship when a wave dashed over the side and tore 
him from the ladder. 

The Titanic was sinking rapidly by the head, with the 
twisting sidelong motion that was soon to aim her on her 
course two miles down. Murdock saw the skipper swept out, 
but did not move. Captain Smith was but one of a multitude 
of lost at that moment. Murdock may have known that the 
last desperate thought of the gray mariner was to get upon 
his bridge and die in command. That the old man could not 
have done this may have had something to do with Murdock's 
suicidal inspiration. Of that no man may say or safely guess. 

The wave that swept the skipper out bore him ahnost to the 
thwart of & crowded life-boat. Handi reached oul, but he 



LEFT TO THEIR FATE 225 

wrenched himself away, turned and swam back toward the 
ship. 

Some say that he said, "Good-bye, I'm going back to the 
ship.'^ 

He disappeared for a moment, then reappeared where a 
rail was slipping under water. Cool and courageous to the 
end, loyal to his duty under the most difficult circumstances, 
he showed himself a noble captain, and he died a noble 
death. 

SAW BOTH OFFICERS PERISH 

Quartermaster Moody saw aU this, watched the skipper 
scramble aboard again onto the submerged decks, and then 
vanish altogether in a great billow. 

As Moody's eye lost sight of the skipper in this confusion 
of waters it again shifted to the bridge, and just in time to see 
Murdock take his life. The man's face was turned toward 
him, Moody said, and he could not mistake it. There were 
still many gleaming lights on the ship, flickering out like 
little groups of vanishing stars, and with the clear starshine 
on the waters there was nothing to cloud or break the quarter- 
master's vision. 

'^I saw Murdock die by his own hand," said Moody, ''saw 
the flash from his gun, heard the crack that followed the 
flash and then saw him plunge over on his face." 

Others report hearing several pistol shots on the decks 
below the bridge, but amid the groans and shrieks and cries, 
shouted orders and aU that vast orchestra of sounds that broke 
upon the air they must have been faint periods of punctuatioUo 

15 



226 LEFT TO THEIR FATE 

BAND PLAYED ITS OWN DIRGE 

The band had broken out in the strains of ''Nearer, My 
God, to Thee," some minutes before Murdock hfted the 
revolver to his head, fired and toppled over on his face. 
Moody saw all this in a vision that filled his brain, while his 
ears drank in the tragic strain of the beautiful hymn that 
the band played as their own dirge, even to the moment when 
the waters sucked them down. 

Wherever Murdock's eye swept the water in that instant, 
before he drew his revolver, it looked upon veritable seas of 
drowning men and women. From the decks there came to 
him the shrieks and groans of the caged and drowning, for 
whom all hope of escape was utterly vanished. He evidently 
never gave a thought to the possibility of saving himself, his 
mind freezing with the horrors he beheld and having room 
for just one central idea — ^swift extinction. 

The strains of the hymn and the frantic cries of the djdng 
blended in a symphony of sorrow. 

Led by the green hght, under the light of stars, the boats 
drew away, and the bow, then the quarter, then the stacks 
and last the stern of the marvel ship of a few days before 
passed beneath the waters. The great force of the ship's 
sinking was unaided by any violence of the elements, and the 
suction, not so great as had been feared, rocked but mildly 
the group of boats now a quarter of a mile distant from it. 

Just before the Titanic disappeared from view men and 
women leaped from the stern. More than a hundred men, 
according to Colonel Gracie, jumped at the last. Gracie 



LEFT TO THEIR FATE 



227 



was among the number and he and the second officer were 
of the very few who were saved. 
As the vessel disappeared^ the waves drowned the majestic, 




DEPTH OF OCEAN WHERE THE TITANIC WENT DOWN 

The above etching shows a diagram of the ocean depths between the 
shore of Newfoundland (shown at the top to the left, by the heavily shaded 
part) to 800 miles out, where the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank. Over 
the Great Bank of Newfoundland the greatest depth is about 35 fathoms, or 
210 fejst. Then there is a sudden drop to 105 fathoms, or 630 feet, and then 
there- fs a falling away to 1650 fathoms or 9900 feet, then 2000 fathoms or 
1^000 feet, and about where the Titanic sank 2760 fathoms or 16,560 feet. 



hynm which the musicians played as they went to their watery 
grave. The most authentic accounts agree that this hymn 

was Bot "Nearer, My God, t© Thee," which it seems had h&m 



228 LEFT TO THEIR FATE 

played shortly before, but "Autumn," which is found in 
the Episcopal hymnal and which fits appropriately the 
situation on the Titanic in the last moments of pain and 
darkness there. One line, "Hold me up in mighty waters," 
particularly may have suggested the hymn to some minister 
aboard the doomed vessel, who, it has been thought, there- 
upon asked the remaining passengers to join in singing the 
hymn, in a last service aboard the sinking ship, soon to be 
ended by death itself. 
Following is the hymn: 

God of mercy and compassion! 

Look with pity on my pain: 
Hear a mournful, broken spirit 

Prostrate at Thy feet complain; 
Many are my foes, and mighty; 

Strength to conquer I have none; 
Nothing can uphold my goings 

But Thy blessed Self alone. 

Saviour, look on Thy beloved; 

Triumph over all my foes; 
Turn to heavenly joy my mourning., 

Turn to gladness all my woes; 
Live or die, or work or suffer, 

Let my weary soul abide, 
In all changes whatsoever 

Sure and steadfast by Thy sideo 



LEFT TO THEIR FATE ^ 229 

When temptations fierce assault me, 

When my enemies I find, 
Sin and guilt, and death and Satan, 

All against my soul combined, 
Hold me up in mighty waters, 

Keep my eyes on things above. 
Righteousness, divine Atonement, 

Peace, and everlasting Love. 

It was a little lame schoolmaster, Tyrtaeus, who aroused the 
jSpartans by his poetry and led them to victory against the 
foe. 

It was the musicians of the band of the Titanic — poor men, 
paid a few dollars a week — ^who played the music to keep up 
the courage of the souls aboard the sinking ship. 

"The way the band kept playing was a noble thing," says 
the wireless operator. "I heard it first while we were working 
the wireless, when there was a rag-time tune for us, and the 
last I saw of the band, when I was floating, struggling in the 
icy water, it was still on deck, playing 'Autumn.' How those 
brave fellows ever did it I cannot imagine." 

Perhaps that music, made in the face of death, would not 
have satisfied the exacting critical sense. It may be that the 
chilled fingers faltered on the pistons of the cornet or at the 
valves of the French horn, that the time was irregular and 
that by an organ in a church, with a decorous congregation, 
the hymns they chose would have been better played and 
sung. But surely that music went up to God from the souls 



230 LEFT TO THEIR FATE 

of drowning men, and was not less acceptable than the song 
of Bongs no mortal ear may hear, the harps of the seraphs 
and the choiring cherubim. Under the sea the music-makers 
lie, etill in their fingers clutching the broken and battered 
means of melody; but over the strident voice of warring 
winds and the sound of many waters there rises their chant 
eternally; and though the musicians lie hushed and cold at 
the sea's heart, their music is heard forevermore. 



CHAPTER XXV 

The Call for Help Heard 

the value op the wireless — other ships alter their 
course — rescuers on the way 

^4X^TE have struck an iceberg. Badly damaged. 
YY Rush aid." 

Seaward and landward, J. G. Phillips, the 
Titanic's wireless man, had hurled the appeal for help. By fits 
and starts — ^f or the wireless was working unevenly and blur- 
ringly — ^Phillips reached out to the world, crying the Titanic's 
peril. A word or two, scattered phrases, now and then a 
connected sentence, made up the message that sent a thrill 
of apprehension for a thousand miles east, west and south 
of the doomed liner. 

The early despatches from St. John's, Cape Race, and 
Montreal, told graphic tales of the race to reach the Titanic, 
the wireless appeals for help, the interruption of the calls, then 
what appeared to be a successful conclusion of the race when 
the Virginian was reported as having reached the giant liner. 

MANY LINES HEAR THE CALL 

Other rushing liners besides the Virginian heard the call 
and became on the instant something more than cargo carriers 

231 



232 THE CALL FOR HELP HEARD 

and passenger greyhounds. The big Baltic, 200 miles to the 
eastward and westbound, turned again to save life, as she did 
when her sister of the White Star fleet, the Republic, was 
cut down in a fog in January, 1909. The Titanic's mate, the 
Olympic, the mightiest of the seagoers save the Titanic herself, 
turned in her tracks. All along the northern lane the miracle 
of the wireless worked for the distressed and sinking White 
Star ship. The Hamburg-American Cincinnati, the Parisian 
from Glasgow, the North German Lloyd Prinz Friedrich 
Wilhelm, the Hamburg-American liners Prinz Adelbert and 
Amerika, all heard the C. Q. D. and the rapid, condensed 
explanation of what had happened. 

VIKGINIAN IN DESPERATE HASTE 

But the Virginian was nearest, barely 170 miles away, and 
was the first to know of the Titanic's danger. She went about 
and headed under forced draught for the spot indicated in one 
of the last of Phillips' messages — ^latitude 41.46 N. and longi- 
tude 50.14 W. She is a fast ship, the Allan liner, and her 
wireless has told the story of how she stretched through the 
night to get up to the Titanic in time. There was need for 
all the power of her engines and all the experience and skill 
of her captain. The final fluttering Marconigrams that were 
released from the Titanic made it certain that the great ship 
with 2340 souls aboard was filling and in desperate peril. 

Further out at sea was the Cunarder, Carpathia, which 
left New York for the Mediterranean on April 13th. Round 
she went and plunged back westward to take a hand in 



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THE CALL FOR HELP HEARD 233 

saving life. And the third steamship within short sailing of 
the Titanic was the AUan liner Parisian away to the eastward, 
on her way from Glasgow to Halifax. 

While they sped in the night with all the drive that steam 
could give them, the Titanic 's caU reached to Cape Race and 
the startled operator there heard at midnight a message 
which quickly reached New York: 

" Have struck an iceberg. We are badly damaged. Titanic 
latitude 41.46 N., 50.14 W." 

Cape Race threw the appeal broadcast wherever his appar- 
atus could carry. 

Then for hours, while the world waited for a crumb of news 
as to the safety of the great ship's people, not one thing more 
was known save that she was drifting, broken and helpless 
and alone in the midst of a waste of ice. And it was not until 
seventeen hours after the Titanic had sunk that the words 
came out of the air as to her fate. There was a confusion 
and tangle of messages — a jumble of rumors. Good tidings 
were trodden upon by evil. And no man knew clearly what 
was taking place in that stretch of waters where the giant 
icebergs were making a mock of aU that the world knew best 
in shipbuilding. 

TITANIC SENT OUT NO MORE NEWS 

It was at 12.17 a. m., while the Virginian was still plung- 
ing eastward, that all communication from the Titanic ceased. 
The Virginian's operator, with the Virginian's captain at his 
elbow, fed the air with blue flashes in a desperate effort to 



234 THE CALL FOR HELP BILABD 

know what was happening to the crippled iiner^ but no mes- 
sage came back. The last word from the Titanic was that 
she was sinking. Then the sparking became faintere The 
call was dying to nothing. The Virginian's operator labored 
over a blur of signals. It was hopeless. So the Allan ship 
strove on, fearing that the worst had happenedo 

It was this ominous silence that so alsrmed the other ves- 
sels hurrying to the Titanic and that fsaused so much sus- 



CHAPTER XXVI 

In the Deifting Life-Boats 

sorrow and suffering — the survivors see the titanic 
go down with their loved ones on board — ^a night 
of agonizing suspense — ^women help to row — ^help 
arrives — ^picking up the life-boats 

[IXTEEN boats were in the procession which entered 
on the terrible hours of rowing, drifting and suspense. 
Women wept for lost husbands and sons, sailors sobbed 
for the ship which had been their pride. Men choked back 
tears and sought to comfort the widowed. Perhaps, they 
said, other boats might have put off in another direction. 
They strove, though none too sure themselves, to convince 
the women of the certainty that a rescue ship would appear. 
In the distance the Titanic looked an enormous length, 
her great bulk outlined in black against the starry sky, every 
port-hole and saloon blazing with hght. It was impossible 
to think anything could be wrong with such a leviathan, were 
it not for that ominous tilt downwards in the bows, where 
the water was now up to the lowest row of porfc-holes. Pres- 
ently, about 2 A. M., as near as can be determined, those in 
the life-boats observed her settling very rapidly, with the 

235 



236 IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 

bows and the bridge completely under water, and concluded 
it was now only a question of minutes before she went. So 
it proved. She slowly tilted straight on end with the stern 
vertically upwards, and as she did, the lights in the cabins 
and saloons, which until then had not flickered for a moment, 
died out, came on again for a single flash, and finally went 
altogether. At the same time the machinery roared down 
through the vessel with a rattle and a groaning that could 
be heard for miles, the weirdest sound surely that could be 
heard in the middle of the ocean, a thousand miles away from 
land. But this was not yet quite the end. 

TITANIC STOOD UPRIGHT 

To the amazement of the awed watchers in the life-boats, 
the doomed vessel remained in that upright position for a time 
estimated at five minutes; some in the boat say less, but it 
was certainly some minutes that at least 150 feet of the Titanic 
towered up above the level of the sea and loomed black against 
the sky. 

SAW LAST OF BIG SHIP 

Then with a quiet, slanting dive she disappeared beneath 
the waters, and the eyes of the helpless spectators had looked 
for the last time upon the gigantic vessel on which they had 
set out from Southampton. And there was left to the sur- 
vivors only the gently heaving sea, the life-boats filled 
with men and women in every conceivable condition of 
dress and undress, above the perfect sky of brilliant stars 
with not a cloud, all tempered with a bitter cold that m^^^^e. 



IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATB 237 

each man and woman long to be one of the crew who toiled 
away with the oars and kept themselves warm thereby — a 
curious, deadening, bitter cold unlike anything they had 
felt before 

*''0NE LONG MOAN''^ 

And then with all these there feU on the ear the most appal- 
ling noise that human being has ever listened to — the cries of 
hundreds of fellow-beings struggling in the icy cold water, 
crying for help with a cry that could not be answered. 

Third Officer Herbert John Pitman, in charge of one of 
the boats, described this cry of agony in his testimony before 
the Senatorial Investigating Committee^ under the question- 
ing of Senator Smith: 

"I heard no cries of distress until after the ship went 
down," he said. 

^^How far away were the cries from your life-boat?" 

^'Several hundred yards, probably, some of them," 

^ ^Describe the screams." 

^ "Don't, sir, please! I'd rather not talk about it." 

'^I'm sorry to press it, but what was it like? Were the 
screams spasmodic?" 

''It was one long continuous moan." 

The witness said the moans and cries continued an hour. 

Those in the life-boats longed to return and pick up some of 
the poor drowning souls, but they feared this would mean 
swamping the boats and a further loss of life. 

Some of the men tried to sing to keep the women from hear- 
ing the cries, and rowed hard to get away from the scene of 



238 IN THE DEIFTING LIFE-BOAfi 

the wreck, but the memory of those sounds wil be one of the 
things the rescued will find it difficult to forget. 

The waiting sufferers kept a lookout for lights, and several 
times it was shouted that steamers' lights were seen, but they 
turned out to be either a light from another boat or a star 
low down on the horizoUo It was hard to keep up hope, 

WOMEN TRIED TO COMMIT SUICIDE 

^*Let me go back — I want to go back to my husband — 1^11 
jump from the boat if you don't/' cried an agonized voice 
in one life-boato 

*^You can do no good by going back— other lives wiE be 
lost if you try to do ito Try to calm yourself for the sake of 
the Kving. It may be that your husband will be picked up 
somewhere by one of the fishing boatSo" 

The woman who pleaded to go back, according to MrSo 
Vera Dick, of Calgary, Canada, later tried to throw herself 
from the Hfe-boato Mrs, Dick, describing the scenes in the 
life-boats, said there were half a dozen women in that one boat 
who tried to commit suicide when they realized that the 
Titanic had gone down. , 

*^Even in Canada, where we have such clear nights," said 
Mrs. Dick, ^'I have never seen such a clear sky. The stars 
were very bright and we could see the Titanic plainly, like a 
great hotel on the water. Floor after floor of the lights went 
out as we watched. It was honible, horriblce I can't bear 
10 think about it. From the distance, as we rowed away, 
we could hear the band playing 'Nearer, My God to Thee/ 



IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 239 

"Among the life-boats themselves, however, there were 
scenes just as terrible, perhaps, but to me nothing could outdo 
the tragic grandeur with which the Titanic went to its death. 
To realize it, you would have to see the Titanic as I saw it 
the day we set sail — ^with the flags flying and the bands playing. 
Everybody on board was laughing and talking about the 
Titanic being the biggest and most luxurious boat on the ocean 
and being unsinkable. To think of it then and to think of it 
standing out there in the night, wounded to death and gasping 
for Hfe, is almost toe big for the imagination. 

SCANTILY CLAD WOMEN IN LIFE-BOATS 

"The women on our boat were in nightgowns and bare feet 
— some of them — and the wealthiest women mingled with the 
poorest immigrants. One immigrant woman kept shouting: 
' My God, my poor father! He put me in this boat and would 
not save himself. Oh, why didn't I die, why didn't I die? 
Why can't I die now?' 

"We had to restrain her, else she would have jumped over- 
board. It was simply awful. Some of the men apparently 
had ^aid they could row just to get into the boats. We paid 
no attention to cowardice, however. We were all busy with 
our own troubles. My heart simply bled for the women who 
were' separated from their husbands. 

"The night was frightfully cold, although clear. We had 
to huddle together to keep warm. Everybody drank sparingly 
of the water and ate sparingly of the bread. We did not 
know when we would be saved . Everybody tried to remaip 



240 IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 

cool, except the poor creatures who could think of nothing 
but their own great loss. Those with the most brains seemed 
to control themselves best." 

PHILADELPHIA WOMEN HEROINES 

How Mrs. George D. Widener, whose husband and son 
perished after kissing her good-bye and helping her into one of 
the boats, rowed when exhausted seamen were on the verge 
of coUapse, was told by Emily Geiger, maid of Mrs. Widener, 
who was saved with her. 

The girl said Mrs. Widener bravely toiled throughout the 
night and consoled other women who had broken down under 
the strain. 

Mrs. WiUiam E. Carter and Mrs. John B. Thayer were in 
the same life-boat and worked heroically to keep it free from 
the icy menace. Although Mrs. Thayer's husband remained 
aboard the Titanic and sank with it, and although she had 
no knowledge of the safety of her son until they met, hours 
later, aboard the Carpathia, Mrs. Thayer bravely labored at 
the oars throughout the night. 

In telling of her experience Mrs. Carter said: 

'^When I went over the side with my children and got in 
the boat there were no seamen in it. Then came a few men, 
but there were oars with no one to use them. The boat had 
been filled with passengers, and there was nothing else for 
me to do but to take an oar. 

"We could see now that the time of the ship had come. She 
was sinking, and we were warned by cries from the men above 



IN THE DEIFTING LIFE-BOATB 241 

to pull away from the ship quickly, Mrs, Thayer, wife of 
the vice-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, was in my 
boat, and she, too, took an oar. 

"It was cold and we had no time to clothe ourselves with 
warm overcoats. The rowing warmed me. We started to 
pun away from the ship. We could see the dim outlines of the 
decks above, but we could not recognize anybody," 

SIANY WOMEN ROWING 

Mrs, WiUiam R. Bucknell's account of the part womem 
played jn the rowing is as follows: 

"There were thirty-five persons in the boat in which the 
captain placed me. Three of these were ordinary seamen, 
supposed to manage the boat, and a steward. 

"One of these men seemed to think that we should not 
start away from the sinking ship until it could be learned 
whether the other boats would accommodate the rest of the 
women. He seemed to think that more could be crowded 
Into ours, if necessary, 

"^I would rather go back and go down with the ship than 
leave under these circumstances/ he cried, 

"The captain shouted to him to obey orders and to puH 
for a little light that could just be discerned miles in the dis- 
tance. I do not know what this little hght was„ It may have 
been a passing fishing vessel, which, of course could not know 
our predicament. Anyway, we never reached it. 

"We rowed all night, I took an oar and sat beside the Coun- 
tess de Rothes. Her maid had an oar and so did mine. The 

16 



242 IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 

air was freezing cold, and it was not long before the only man 
that appeared to know anything about rowing commenced 
to complain that his hands were freezing. A woman back of 
him handed him a shawl from about her shoulders. 

"As we rowed we looked back at the lights of the Titanic,, 
There was not a sound from her, only the lights began to get 
lower and lower, and finally she sank. Then we heard a 
muffled explosion and a dull roar caused by the great suction 
of water. 

"There was not a drop of water on our boat. The last 
minute before our boat was laimched Captain Smith threw 
aboard a bag of bread, I took the precaution of taking a good 
drink of water before we started, so I suffered no inconve- 
nience from thirst.^^ 

Mrs. Lucien Smith, whose young husband perished, was 
another heroine. It is related by survivors that she took 
turns at the oars, and then, when the boat was in danger of 
imkiiigy stood ready to plug a hole with her finger if the cork 



The boat in which Mrs. L Jo Brown, of Denver^ CoL^ was 
saved contained only three men in all, and only one rowed. 
He was a half -frozen seaman who was tumbled into the boat 
at the last minute^ The woman wrapped him in blankets 

and set Mm at bm oar to start his blood. The second man 
wm too ©Id to be ol; any nse. The tiilrd was a coward. 



IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 243 

Strange to say, there was room in this boat for ten other 
people. Ten brave men would have received the warmest 
welcome of their lives if they had been there. The coward, 
being a quartermaster and the assigned head of the boat, 
sat in the stern and steered. He was terrified, and the women 
had to fight against his pessimism while they tugged at the 
oars. 

The women sat two at each oar. One held the oar in place, 
the other did the puUing. Mrs. Brown coached them and 
cheered them on. She told them that the exercise would 
keep the chill out of their veins, and she spoke hopefully of 
the likelihood that some vessel would answer the wireless caUs. 
Over the frightful danger of the situation the spirit of this 
woman soared. 

THE PESSIMIST 

And the coward sat in his stern seat, terrified, his tongue 
loosened with fright. He assured them there was no chance 
in the world. He had had fourteen years' experience, and he 
knew. First, they would have to row one and a half miles 
at least to get out of the sphere of the suction, if they did not 
want to go down. They would be lost, and nobody would 
ever find them. 

"Oh, we shaU be picked up sooner or later," said some of 
the braver ones. No, said the man, there was no bread in 
the boat, no water; they would starve — all that big boatload 
wandering the high seas with nothing to eat, perhaps for days. 

"Don't," cried Mrs. Brown. "Keep that to yourself, 
if you feel that way. For the sake of these women and chil- 



244 IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 

dren, be a man. We have a smooth sea and a fighting chance. 
B© a man." 

But the coward only knew that there was no compass and 
n® chart aboard. They sighted what they thought was a 
fishing smack on the horizon, showing dimly in the early 
dawn. The man at the rudder steered toward it, and the 
women bent to their oars again. They covered several miles 
in this way— but the smack faded into the distance. They 
ceuld not see it any longer. And the coward said that every- 
thing was over. 

They rowed back nine weary miles. Then the coward 
thought they must stop rowing, and lie in the trough of the 
waves until the Carpathia should appear. The women tried 
it for a few moments, and felt the cold creeping into their 
bodies. Though exhausted from the hard physical labor they 
thought work was better than freezing. 

^'Row again!" commanded Mrs. Brown. 

''No, no, don't," said the coward. 

''We shall freeze," cried several of the women together. 
"We must row. We have rowed all this time. We must 
keep on or freeze." 

When the coward stiU demurred, they told him plainly 
and once for all that if he persisted in wanting them to stop 
rowing, they were going to throw him overboard and be done 
with him for good. Something about the look in the eye of 
that Mississippi-bred oarswoman, who seemed such a force 
among her fellows, told him that he had better capitulate. 
And he did. 



IN THE' DRIFTING LIFE-^BOATB 245 

COUNTESS ROTHES AN EXPERT OARSWOMAN 

Miss Alice Farnam Leader, a New York physician, escaped 
from the Titanic on the same boat which carried the Countess 
Rothes. "The countess is an expert oarswoman,'^ said 
Doctor Leader, "and thoroughly at home on the water. She 
practically took command of our boat when it was found that 
the seaman who had been placed at the oars could not row 
skilfully. Several of the women took their place with the 
countess at the oars and rowed in turns, while the weak and 
unskilled stewards sat quietly in one end of the boat.'^ 

MEN COULD NOT ROW 

"With nothing on but a nightgown I helped row one of the 
boats for three hours,'* said Mrs. Florence Ware, of Bristol^ 
England. 

"In our boat there were a lot of women, a steward and a 
fireman. None of the men knew anything about managing 
a small boat, so some of the women who were used to boats 
took charge. 

"It was cold and I worked as hard as I could at an oar 
until we were picked up. There was nothing to eat or drink 
on our boato^^ 

DEATHS ON THE LIFE-BOATS 

"The temperature must have been below freezing,^* testified 
another survivor, "and neither men nor women in my boat 
were warmly clothed. Several of them died. The officer 



246 i^ T'HM BIHUH^-Pli MIU T.i W&4^-,Rr»&1?'^i 



U 



bodies. Soon they were weighted so they would sink and were 
put overboardo We could also see similar burials taking 
place from other life-boats that were all around us." 

GAMBLERS WERE POLITE 

In one boat were two card sharps. With the same clever- 
ness that enabled them to win money on board they obtained 
places in the boats with the women. 

In the boat with the gamblers were women in their night- 
gowns and women in evening dress. None of the boats were 
properly equipped with food, but all had enough bread and 
water to keep the rescued from starving until the expected 
arrival of help. 

To the credit of the gamblers who managed to escape, it 
should be said that they were polite and showed the women 
every courtesy, AU they wanted was to be sure of getting 
in a boat. That once accomplished, they reverted to their 
habitual practice of poUteness and suavity. They were even 
willing to do a little manual labor, refusing to let women do 
any rowing. 

The people on that particular boat were a sad group. 
Fathers had kissed their daughters good-bye and husbands 
had parted from their wives. The card sharps, however, 
philosophized wonderfuUy about the will of the Almighty and 
how strange His ways. They said that one must be prepared 
for anything; that good always came from evil, and that 
every cloud had a silvery Mning, 

**Who knows?" said oa©« '^^It maj be that everybody on 



iN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 247 

board will be saved." Another added: "Our duty is to the 
living. You women owe it to your relatives and friends not 
to allow this thing to wreck your reason or undermine your 
health." And they took pains to see that all the women who 
were on the hfe-boat had plenty of covering to keep them from 
the icy blasts of the night. 

HELP IN SIGHT 

The survivors were in the life-boats until about 5.30 a. m. 
About 3 A. M. faint lights appeared in the sky and all rejoiced 
to see what was supposed to be the coming dawn, but after 
watching for half an hour and seeing no change in the intensity 
of the light, the disappointed sufferers realized it was the North- 
em Lights. Presently low down on the horizon they saw a 
Hght which slowly resolved itseK into a double hght, and they 
watched eagerly to see if the two Hghts would separate and 
so prove to be only two of the boats, or whether these lights 
would remain together, in which case they should expect 
them to be the lights of a rescuing steamer. 

To the inexpressible joy of all, they moved as one! Imme- 
diately the boats were swung aroimd and headed for the lights. 
Someone shouted: "Now, boys, sing!" and everyone not 
too weak broke into song with ''Row for the shore, boys." 
Tears came to the eyes of all as they reahzed that safety was 
at hand. The song was sung, but it was a very poor imitation 
of the real thing, for quavering voices make poor songs. A 
cheer was given next, and that was better — you can keep in 
tune for a cheer. 



248 IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 



THE ''lucky thirteen" 



"Our rescuer showed up rapidly, and as she swung round 
we saw her cabins aU alight, and knew she must be a large 
steamer. She was now motionless and we had to row to her. 
Just then day broke, a beautiful quiet dawn with faint pink 
clouds just above the horizon, and a new moon whose crescent 
just touched the horizon. 'Turn your money over, boys,* 
said our cheery steersman, 'that is, if you have any with you,' 
he added. 

"We laughed at him for his superstition at such a time, but 
he countered very neatly by adding: 'Well, I shall never 
say again that 13 is an unlucky number; boat 13 has been the 
best friend we ever had.' Certainly the 13 superstition is 
kiUed forever in the minds of those who escaped from the 
Titanic in boat 13. 

"As we neared the Carpathia we saw in the dawning hght 
what we thought was a full-rigged schooner standing up near 
her, and presently behind her another, aU sails set, and we 
said: 'They are fisher boats from the Newfoundland bank 
and have seen the steamer lying to and are standing by to 
help.' But in another five minutes the light shone pink on 
them and we saw they were icebergs towering many feet in 
the air, huge, glistening masses, deadly white, still, and peaked 
in a way that had easily suggested a schooner. We glanced 
round the horizon and there were others wherever the eye 
©ould reach. The steamer we had to reach was surrounded 
by them and we had to make a detour to reach her, for be- 
tween her and us lay another huge berg." 




HEART-BREAKING FAREWELLS 

Both men and women were loaded into the first boats, but soon the 
cry of "Women first" was raised. Then came the real note of tragedy. 
Husbands and wives clung to each other in farewell; some refused to be 
separated. 




PASSENGERS LEAVING THE TITANIC IN THE LIFE-BOATS 

The agony and despair which possessed the occupants of these boats 
as they were carried away from the doomed giant, leaving husbands and 
brothers behind, is almost beyond description. It is little wonder that the 
strain of these moments, with the physical and mental suffering which 
followed during the early morning hours, left many of the women still hys- 
terical when they reached New York. 



m THE DKIFTING LIFE=BOATE 249 

A WONDERFUL DAWN 

Speaking of the moment when the Carpathia was sighted, 
Mrs. J, J. Brown, who had cowed the driveling quarter^ 
master, said: 

''Then, knowing that we were safe at last, I looked about 
me. The most wonderful dawn I have ever seen came upon 
us. I have just returned from Egypt, I have been all over 
the world, but I have never seen anything Uke this. Fdrst 
the gray and then the flood of light. Then the sun Game up 
in a ball of red fire. For the first time we saw where we were. 
Near us was open water, but on every side was ice. Ice ten 
feet high was everywhere, and to the right and left and back 
and front were icebergs. Some of them were mountain high. 
This sea of ice was forty miles wide, they told me. We did 
not wait for the Carpathia to come to us, we rowed to it„ 
We were lifted up in a sort of nice Httle sHng that was lowered 
to us. After that it was all over. The passengers of the 
Carpathia were so afraid that we would not have room enough 
that they gave us practically the whole ship to ourselves." 

It had been learned that some of the passengers, in fact all 
of the women passengers of the Titanic who were rescued, 
refer to "Lady Margaret,'' as they caUed Mrs- Brown, as the 
strength of them all, 

TRANSFERRING THE RESCUED 

Officers of the Carpathia report that when they reached 
the scene of the Title's wreck there were fifty bodies oi 



250 IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 

more floating in the sea. Only one mishap attended the trans- 
fer of the rescued from the life-boats. One large collapsible 
life-boat, in which thirteen persons were seated, turned turtle 
just as they were about to save it, and all in it were lost. 

THE DOG HERO 

Not the least among the heroes of the Titanic disaster was 
Rigel, a big black Newfoundland dog, belonging to the first 
officer, who went down with the ship. But for Rigel the fourth 
boat picked up might have been run down by the Carpathia. 
For three hours he swam in the icy water where the Titanic 
went down, evidently looking for his master, and was instru- 
mental in guiding the boatload of survivors to the gangway 
of the Carpathia. 

Jonas Briggs, a seaman abroad the Carpathia, now has 
Rigel and told the story of the dog's heroism. The Carpathia 
was moving slowly about, looking for boats, rafts or anything 
which might be afloat. Exhausted with their efforts, weak 
from lack of food and exposure to the cutting wind, and terror- 
istricken, the men and women in the fourth boat had drifted 
under the Carpathia's starboard bow. They were dangerously 
close to the steamship, but too weak to shout a warning loud 
enough to reach the bridge. 

The boat might not have been seen were it not for the sharp 
barking of Rigel, who was swirmning ahead of the craft, and 
valiantly announcing his position. The barks attracted the 
attention of Captain Rostron, and he went to the starboard 
end of the bridge to see where they came from and saw the 



IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS 251 

boat. He immediately ordered the engines stopped, and the 
boat came alongside the starboard gangway. 

Care was taken to get Rigel aboard, but he appeared little 
affected by his long trip through the ice-cold water. He 
stood by the rail and barked until Captain Rostron called 
Briggs and had him take the dog below. 

A THRILLING ACCOUNT OF RESCUE 

Mr. Wallace Bradford, of San Francisco, a passenger 
aboard the Carpathia, gave the following thrilling account 
of the rescue of the Titanic's passengers. 

"Since half-past four this morning I have experienced one 
of those never-to-be-forgotten circumstances that weighs 
heavy on my soul and which shows most awfully what poor 
things we mortals are. Long before this reaches you the news 
will be flashed that the Titanic has gone down and that our 
steamer, the Carpathia, caught the wireless message when 
seventy-five miles away, and so far we have picked up twenty 
boats estimated to contain about 750 people. 

**None of us can teU just how many, as they have been 
hustled to various staterooms and to the dining saloons to be 
warmed up. I was awakened by unusual noises and imagined 
that I smeUed smoke. I jumped up and looked out of my 
port-hole, and saw a huge iceberg looming up hke a rock off 
shore. It was not white, and I was positive that it was a 
rock, and the thought flashed through my mind, how in the 
world can we be near a rock when we are four days out 
from New York in a southerly direction and in mid-ocean. 



252 IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS • 

"When I got out on deck the first man I encountered told 
me that the Titanic had gone down and we were rescuing the 
passengers. The first two boats from the doomed vessel 
were in sight making toward us. Neither of them was crowded. 
This was accounted for later by the fact that it was impossible 
to get many to leave the steamer, as they would not beheve 
that she was going down. It was a glorious, clear morning 
and a quiet sea. Off to the starboard was a white area of ice 
plain, from whose even surface rose mammoth forts, castles 
and p3rramids of solid ice almost as real as though they had 
been placed there by the hand of man. 

"Our steamer was hove to about two and a half miles from 
the edge of this huge iceberg. The Titanic struck about 
11.20 p. M. and did not go down until two o'clock. Many 
of the passengers were in evening dress when they came 
aboard our ship, and most of these were in a most bedraggled 
condition. Near me as I write is a girl about eighteen years 
old in a fancy dress costume of bright colors, while in another 
seat near by is a woman in a white dress triromed with lace 
and covered with jaunty blue flowers. 

"As the boats came alongside after the first two all of them 
contained a very large proportion of women. In fact, one 
of the boats had women at the oars, one in particular contain- 
ing, as near as I could estimate, about forty-five women and 
only about six men. In this boat two women were handhng 
one of the oars. All of the engineers went down with the 
steamer. Four bodies have been brought aboard. One 
Is that of a fireman, who is said to have been shot by on© 



IN THE DRIFTING LIFE BOATS 253 

of the officers because he refused to obey orders. Soon after 
I got on deck I could, with the aid of my glasses, count seven 
boats headed our way, and they continued to come up to half 
past eight o'clock. Some were in siight for a long time and 
moved very slowly, showing plainly that the oars were being 
handled by amateurs or by women. 

^ ;"No baggage of any kind was brought by the sm^ivors. 
In fact, the only piece of baggage that reached the Carpathia 
from the Titanic is a small closed trunk about twenty-four 
inches square, evidently the property of an Irish female 
immigrant. While some seemed fully dressed, many of the 
men having their overcoats and the women sealskin and other 
coats, others came just as they had jumped from their berths, 
clothed in their pajamas and bath robes." 

THE SORROW OF THE LIVING 

Of the survivors in general it may be said that they escaped 
death and they gained life. Life is probably sweet to them as it 
is to everyone, but what physical and mental torture has been 
the price of life to those who were brought back to land on the 
Carpathia— the hours in life-boats, amid the crashing of ice, 
the days of anguish that have succeeded, the horrors of body 
and mind still experienced and never to be entirely absent 
until death affords them its relief. 

The thought of the nation to-day is for the living./ They 
need our sympathy, our consolation more than do the dead, 
and, perhaps, in the majority of the cases they need ouf 



CHAPTER XXVII 

The Tragic Home-Coming 

the cakpathia reaches new york — ^an intense and 
dramatic moment — ^hysterical reunions and crushing 
disappointments at the dock — caring for the suffer- 
ers — ^final realization that all hope for others is 
futile — list of survivors — ^roll of the dead 

IT was a solemn moment when the Carpathia heaved in 
sight. There she rested on the water, a blur of black — 
huge, mysterious, awe-inspiring — and yet withal a thing 
to send thrills of pity and then of admiration through the 
beholder. 

It was a few minutes after seven o'clock when she arrived 
at the entrance to Ambrose Channel. She was coining fast, 
steaming at better than fifteen knots an hour, and she was 
sighted long before she was expected. Except for the usual 
side and masthead lights she was almost dark, only the upper 
cabins showing a glimmer here and there. 

Then began a period of waiting, the suspense of which 
proved almost too much for the hundreds gathered there 
to greet friends and relatives or to learn with certainty at 

254 



, . THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 255 

last that those for whom they watched would never come 
ashore. 

There was almost complete silence on the pier. Doctors 
and nurses, members of the Women's Relief Committee, city 
and government officials, as well as officials of the line, moved 
nervousl}^ about. 

Seated where they had been assigned beneath the big 
customs letters corresponding to the initials of the names of 
the survivors they came to meet, sat the mass of 2000 on the 
pier. 

Women wept, but they wept quietly, not hysterically, and 
the sound of the sobs made many times less noise than the 
hum and bustle which is usual on the pier ^mong those 
awaiting an incoming liner. 

Slowly and majestically the ship slid through the water, 
still bearing the details of that secret of what happened and 
who perished when the Titanic met her fate. 

Convoying the Carpathia was a fleet of tugs bearing men 
and women anxious to learn the latest news„ The Cunarder 
had been as silent for days as though it, too, were a ship of 
the dead. A Ust of survivors had been given out from its 
wireless station and that was all. Even the approximate 
time of its arrival had been kept a secreto 

k:eabing port 

There was no response to the hail from one tug, and as 
others closed in, the steamship quickened her speed a little 
and left them behind as she swung up the channel 



256 THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 

There was an exploding of flashlights from some of the 
tugs, answered seemingly by sharp stabs of lightning in the 
northwest that served to accentuate the silence and absence 
of light aboard the rescue ship. Five or six persons, apparently 
membeis of the crew or the ship's officers, were seen along 
the rail; but otherwise the boat appeared to be deserted. 

Off quarantine the Carpathia slowed down and, hailing 
the immigration inspection boat, asked if the health officer 
wished to board. She was told that he did, and came to a 
stop while Dr. O'Connell and two assistants climbed on 
board. Again the newspaper men asked for some word of 
the catastrophe to the Titanic, but there was no answer, 
and the Carpathia continued toward her pier. 

As she passed the revenue cutter Mohawk and the derehct 
destroyer Seneca anchored off Tompkinsville the wireless on 
the Government vessels was seen to flash, but there was no 
answering spark from the Carpathia. Entering the North 
River she laid her course close to the New Jersey side in 
order to have room to swing into her pier. 

By this time the rails were lined with men and women. 
They were very silent^ There were a few requests for news 
from those on board and a few answers to questions shouted 
from the tugs. 

The Uner began to slacken her speed, and the tugboat soon 
was alongside. Up above the inky blackness of the hull 
figures could be made out, leaning over the port raiHng, as 
though peering eagerly at the little craft which was bearing 
down on the Carpathia. 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 257 

Some of them, perhaps, had passed through that inferno 
of the deep >sea which sprang up to destroy the mightiest 
steamship afloat. 

''Carpathia, ahoy!" was shouted through a megaphone. 

There was an interval of a few seconds, and then, ''Aye, 
aye," came the reply. 

''Is there any assistance that can be rendered?" was the 
next question. 

"Thank you, no," was the answer in a tone that carried 
emotion with it. Meantime the tugboat was getting nearer 
and nearer to the Carpathia, and soon the faces of those lean= 
ing over the railing could be distinguished. 

TALK WITH SUKVIVORS 

More faces appeared, and still more. 

A woman who called to a man on the tugboat was asked, 
"Are you one the Titanic survivors?" 

"Yes," said the voice, hesitatingly. 

"Do you need help?" 

"Noy" after a pause. 

"If there is anything you want done it will be attended to." 

"Thank you. I have been informed that my relatives will 
meet me at the pier." 

" Is it true that some of the life-boats sank with the Titanic?" 

"Yes. There was some trouble in manning them. They 
were not far enough away from her." 

All of this questioning and receiving replies was carried 
on with the greatest difficulty. The pounding of the liner's 

17 



258 THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 

engines, the washing of the sea, the tugboat's engines, made it 
hard to understand the woman's replies. • 

ALL CARED FOR ON BOARD 

"Were the women properly cared for after the crash?'* 
she was asked. 

''Oh, yes," came the shrill reply. ''The men were brave — 
very brave." Here her voice broke and she turned and left 
the raiUng, to reappear a few moments later and cry: 

"Please report me as saved." 

"What name?" was asked. She shouted a name that could 
not be understood, and, apparently believing that it had been, 
turned away again and disappeared. 

"Nearly all of us are very ill," cried another woman. Here 
several other tugboats appeared, and those standing at the 
railing were besieged with questions. 

"Did the crash come without warning?" a voice on one of 
the smaller boats megaphoned. 

"Yes," a woman answered. "Most of us had retired. We 
saved a few of our belongings." 

"How long did it take the boat to sink?" asked the voice. 

TITANIC CREW HEROES 

"Not long," came the reply. "The crew and the men were 
vary brave. Oh, it is dreadful — dreadful to think of!" 
"Is Mr. John Jacob Astor on board?" 
"No." 
"Did he remain on the Titanic after the collision?" 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING ' 259 

"I do not know," 

Questions of this kind were showered at the few survivors 
who stood at the raiHng, but they seemed too confused to 
answer them intelligibly, and after replying evasively to some 
they would disappear. 



"Are you going to anchor for the nlght?^^ Captain Eostron 
was asked by megaphone as his boat approached Ambrose 
Light, It was then raining heavily, 

"No," came the reply, ^^I am going into port. There 
are sick people on board,'' 

"We tried to learn when she would dock," said Dr. Walter 
Kennedy, head of the big ambulance corps on the mist- 
shrouded pier, "and we were told it would not be before mid- 
night and that most probably it would not be before dawn 
to-morrow. The childish deception that has been practiced 
for days by the people who are responsible for the Titanic has 
been carried up to the very moment of the landing of the 



survivors." 



She proceeded past the Cunard pier, where 2000 persons 
were waiting her, and steamed to a spot opposite the White 
Star piers at Twenty-first Street. 

The ports in the big inclosed pier of the Cunard Line were 
opened, and through them the waiting hundreds, almost 
frantic with anxiety over what the Carpathia might reveal, 
watched her as with nerve-destroying leisure she swung about 
n the river^ dropping over the life-boats of the Titanic that 
they might be taken to the piers of the White Star LIbb. , , 



260 THE TRAGIC HOME=COMING 

THE TITANIC LIFE-BOATS 

It was dark in the river j but the lowering away of the life- 
boats could be seen from the Carpathia's pier, and a deep 
si^ arose from the multitude there as they caught this first 
glance of anything associated with the Titanic, 

Then the Carpathia started for her own pier. As she 
approached it the ports on the north side of pier 54 were 
closed that the Carpathia might land there, but through the 
two left open to accommodate the forward and after gang- 
planks of the big liner the watchers could see her looming 
larger and larger in the darkness till finally she was directly 
alongside the pier. 

As the boats were towed away the picture taking and shout- 
ing of questions began again, John Badenoch, a buyer for 
Macy & Co,, called down to a representative of the firm that 
neither Mr, nor Mrs, Isidor Straus were among the rescued 
on board the Carpathia, An officer of the Carpathia called 
down that 710 of the Titanic 's passengers were on board, but 
refused to reply to other questions. 

The heavy hawsers were made fast without the custom- 
ary shouting of ship's ofiicers and pier hands. From the 
crowd on the pier came a long, shuddering murmur. In it 
were blended sighs and hundreds of whispers. The burden 
of it all was: ^'Here they come," 

ANXIOUS MEN AND WOMEN 

About each gangplank a portable fence had been put in 
place, marking off some fifty feet of the pier, within which 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 261 

stood one hundred or more customs officials. Next to the 
fence, crowded close against it, were anxious men and women, 
their gaze strained for a glance of the first from the ship, 
their mouths opened to draw their breaths in spasmodic, 
quivering gasps, their very bodies shaking with suppressed 
excitement, excitement which only the suspense itself was 
keeping in subjection. 

These were the husbands and wives, children, parents, 
sweethearts and friends of those who iiad sailed upon the 
Titanic on its maiden voyage. 

They pressed to the head of the pier, marking the boats 
of the wrecked ship as they dangled at the side of the Car= 
pathia and were revealed in the sudden flashes of the photo- 
graphers upon the tugs. They spoke in whispers, each group 
intent upon its own sad business. Newspaper writers, with 
pier passes showing in their hat bands, were everywhere. 

A sailor hurried outside the fence and disappeared, ap- 
parently on a mission for his company. There was a deep- 
drawn sigh as he walked away, shaking his head toward 
those who peered eagerly at him. Then came a man and 
woman of the Carpathia's own passengers, as their orderly 
dress showed them to be. 

Again a sigh like a sob swept over the crowd, and again 
they turned back to the canopied gangplank. 

THE FIRST SURVIVORS 

Several minutes passed and then out of the first cabin 
gangway^ tunneled by a somber awning, streamed the first 



262 THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 

fiurvivors. A young woman, hatless, her light brown hair 
disordered and the leaden weight of crushing sorrow heavy 
upon eyes and sensitive mouth, was in the van. She stopped 
perplexed, almost ready to drop with terror and exhaustion , 
and was caught by a customs official. 

''A survivor?'' he questioned rapidly, and a nod of the 
head answering him, he demanded: 

"Your name." 

The answer given, he started to lead her toward that sec- 
tion of the pier where her friends would be waiting. 

When she stepped from the gangplank there was quiet 
on the pier. The answers of the woman could almost be 
heard by those fifty feet away, but as she staggered, rather 
than walked, toward the waiting throng outside the fence, a 
low wailing sound arose from the crowd. 

''Dorothy, Dorothy!" cried 9 man from the number. He 
broke through the double line of customs inspectors as though 
it was composed of wooden toys and caught the woman to 
his breast. She opened her lips inarticulately, weakly raised 
her arms and would have pitched forward upon her face had 
she not been supported. Her fair head fell weakly to one 
side as the man picked her up in his arms, and, with tears 
streaming down his face, stalked down the long avenue of 
the pier and down the long stairway to a waiting taxicab. 

The waihng of the crowd — its cadences, wild and weird- 
grew steadily louder and louder till they culminated in a 
mighty shriek, which swept the whole big pier as though at 
the direction of some master hand. 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 263 

RUMORS AFLOAT 

The arrival of the Carpathia was the signal for the most 
sensational rumors to circulate through the crowd on the 
pier. 

First, Mrs. John Jacob Astor was reported to have died 
at 8.06 o'clock, when the Carpathia was on her way up the 
harbor. 

Captain Smith and the first engineer were reported to 
have shot themselves when they found that the Titanic was 
doomed to sink. Afterward it was learned that Captain 
Smith and the engineer went down with their ship in perfect 
courage and coolness. 

Major Archibald Butt, President Taft's military aide, was 
said to have entered into an agreement with George D. 
Widener, Colonel John Jacob Astor and Isidor Straus to 
kill them first and then shoot himself before the boat sank. 
It was said that this agreement had been carried out. 
Later it was shown that, like many other men on the ship, 
they had gone down without the exhibition of a sign of fear. 

MRS. CORNELL SAFE 

Magistrate Cornell's wife and her two sisters were among 
the first to leave the ship. They were met at the first cabin 
pier entrance by Magistrate Cornell and a party of friends. 
None of the three women had hats. One of those who met 
them was Magistrate Cornell's son. One of Mrs. Cornell's 
sisters was overheard to remark that "it would be a dread- 
ful thing when the ship began really to unloado" 



264 THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 

The three women appeared to be in a very nervous state. 
Their hair was more or less dishevelled. They wert^ appar- 
ently fully dressed save for their hats. Clothing had been 
supplied them in their need and everything had been done 
to make them comfortable. One of the party said that the 
collision occurred at 9.45. 

Following closely the Cornell party was H. J. Allison, of 
Montreal, who came to meet his family. One of the party, 
who was weeping bitterly as he left the pier, explained that 
the only one of the family that was rescued was the young 
brother. 

MRS. ASTOR APPEARED 

In a few minutes young Mrs. Astor with her maid 
appeared. She came down the gangplank unassisted. She 
was wearing a white sweater. Vincent Astor and William 
Dobbyn, Colonel Astor's secretary, greeted her and hurried 
her to a waiting limousine which contained clothing and 
other necessaries of which it was thought she might be in 
need. The young woman was white-faced and silent. 
Nobody cared to intrude upon her thoughts. Her stepson 
said little to her. He did not feel like questioning her at 
such a time, he said. 

LAST SEEN OF COLONEL ASTOR 

Walter M. Clark, a nephew of the senator, said that he 
had seen Colonel Astor put his wife in a boat, after assuring 
her that he would soon follow her in another. Mr. Clark 
mid others said that Colonel and Mrs. Astor were m their 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 265 

suite when the crash came, and that they appeared quietly 
on deck a few minutes afterward. 

Here and there among the passengers of the Carpathia 
and from the survivors of the Titanic the story was gleaned 
of the rescue. Nothing in life will ever approach the joy 
felt by the hundreds who were waiting in little boats on the 
spot where the Titanic foundered when the lights of the 
Carpathia were first distinguished. That was at 4 o'clock 
on Monday morning. 

BR. FRAUENTHAL WELCOMED 

Efforts were made to learn from Dr. Henry Franenthal 
something about the details of how he was rescued. Just 
then, or as he was leaving the pier, beaming with evident 
delight, he was surrounded by a big crowd of his friends. 

''There's Harry! There he is!'^ they yeUed and made a 
rush for him. 

AU the doctor's face that wasn^t covered with red beard 
was aglow with smiles as his friends hugged him and slapped 
him on the back. They rushed him off bodily through the 
crowd and he too was whirled homeo 

A SAD STORY 

How others followed — how heartrending stories of partings 
and of thrilling rescues were poured out in an amazing stream — 
this has all been told over and over again in the news that 
for days amazed^ saddened and angered the entire world 



266 THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 

It is the story of a disaster that nations, it is hoped, wiU make 
impossible in the years to come. 

In the stream of survivors were a peer of the realm, Sir 
Cosmo Duff Gordon, and his secretary, side by side with 
plain Jack Jones, of Birmingham, able seaman, millionaires 
and paupers, women with bags of jewels and others with night- 
gowns their only property. 

MORE THAN SEVENTY WIDOWS 

More than seventy widows were in the weeping company. 
The only large family that was saved in its entirety was that 
of the Carters, of Philadelphia. Contrasting with this re-= 
markable salvage of wealthy Pennsylvanians was the sleeping 
eleven-months-old baby of the AUisons, whose father, mother 
and sister went down to death after it and its nurse had been 
placed in a life-boat. 

Millionaire and pauper, titled grandee and weeping immi- 
grant, Ismay, the head of the White Star Company, and Jack 
Jones from the stoke hole were surrounded instantly. Some 
would gladly have escaped observation. Every man among 
the survivors acted as though it were first necessary to explain 
how he came to be in a Hfe-boat. Some of the stories smacked 
of Mimchauseno Others were as plain and unvarnished as 
a pike staff. Those that were most sincere and trustworthy 
had to be fairly pulled from those who gave their sad testimony. 

Far into the night the recitaLs were made. They were 
told in the rooms of hotels, in the wards of hospitals and upcai 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 267 

of horror and heroism, the like of which has not been known 
in the civilized world since man established his dominion over 
the sea. 

STEERAGE PASSENGERS 

The two hundred and more steerage passengers did not 
leave the ship until 11 o'clock. They were in a sad condition. 
The women were without wraps and the few men there were 
wore very little clothing. A poor Syrian woman who said 
she was Mrs. Habush, bound for Youngstown, Ohio, carried 
in her arms a six-year-old baby girl. This woman had lost 
her husband and three brothers. '' I lost four of my men 
folks," she cried. 

TWO LITTLE BOYS 

Among the survivors who elicited a large measure of sym- 
pathy were two little French boys who were dropped, almost 
naked, from the deck of the sinking Titanic into a life-boat. 
From what place in France did they come and to what place 
in the New World were they bound? There was not one iota 
of information to be had as to the identity of the waifs of the 
deep, the orphans of the Titanic. 

The two baby boys, two and four years old, respectively, 
were in charge of Miss Margaret Hays, who is a fluent speaker 
of French, and she had tried vainly to get from the lisping Hps 
of the two little ones some information that would lead to 
the finding of their relatives. 

Miss Hays, also a survivor of the Titanic, took charge of 
the almost naked waifs on the Carpathia. She became 



268 THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 

warmly attached to the two boys, who unconcernedly played 
about, not understanding the great tragedy that had come 
into their lives. 

The two little curly-heads did not understand it all. Had 
not their pretty nineteen-year-old foster mother provided 
them with pretty suits and little white shoes and playthings 
a-plenty? Then, too, Miss Hays had a Pom dog that she 
brought with her from Paris and which she carried in her 
arms when she left the Titanic and held to her bosom 
through the long night in the life-boat, and to which the 
children became warmly attached. All three became aliens 
on an alien shore. 

Miss Hays, unable to learn the names of the little fellows, 
had dubbed the older Louis and the younger "Lump." 
''Lump" w^s all that his name implies, for he weighed almost 
as much as his brother. They were dark-eyed and brown 
curly-haired children, who knew how to smile as only French 
children can. 

On the fateful night of the Titanic disaster and just as the 
last boats were pulling away with their human freight, a 
man rushed to the rail holding the babes under his arms. 
He cried to the passengers in one of the boats and held the 
children aloft. Three or four sailors and passengers held up 
their arms. The father dropped the older boy. He was 
safely caught. Then he dropped the little feUow and saw 
him folded in the arms of a sailor. Then the boat pulled 
away. 
I The last seen of the father, whose last living act was 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 269 

to save his babes, he was waving his hand in a final parting. 
Then the Titanic plunged to the ocean's bed. 

BABY TRAVEBS 

Still more pitiable in one way was the lot of the baby sur- 
vivor, eleven-months-old Travers AUison, the only member 
of a family of four to survive the wreck. His father, H. J. 
Allison, and mother and Lorraine, a child of three, were 
victims of the catastrophe. Baby Travers, in the excitement 
following the crash, was separated from the rest of the family 
just before the Titanic went down. With the party were 
two nurses and a maid. 

Major Arthur Peuchen, of Montreal, one of the survivors, 
standing near the little feUow, who, swathed in blankets, 
lay blinking at his nurse, described the death of Mrs. Allison. 
She had gone to the deck without her husband, and, fran- 
tically seeking him, was directed by an ofiicer to the other 
side of the ship. 

She failed to find Mr. AUison and was quickly hustled 
into one of the collapsible life-boats, and when last seen by 
Major Peuchen she was toppling out of the half-swamped 
boat. J. W. AlKson, a cousin of H. J. AUison, was at the 
pier to care for Baby Travers and his nurse. They were 
taken to the Manhattan Hotel. 

Describing the details of the perishing of the AUison family, 
the rescued nurse said they were aU in bed when the Titanic 
hit the berg. 

'^We did not get up immediately," said she^ "for we had 



270 THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 

not thought of danger„ Later we were told to get up, and 
I hurriedly dressed the baby. We hastened up on deck, 
and confusion was all about. With other women and chil- 
dren we clambered to the life-boats, just as a matter of pre- 
caution, believing that there was no immediate danger. In 
about an hour there was an explosion and the ship appeared 
to fall apart. We were in the life-boat about six hours before 
we were picked up." 

THE RYERSON FAMILY 

Probably few deaths have caused more tears than Arthur 
Ryerson's, in view of the sad circumstances which called him 
home from a lengthy tour in Europe. Mr. Ryerson's eldest 
son, Arthur Larned Ryerson, a Yale student, was killed ii* 
an automobile accident Easter Monday, 1912. 

A cablegram announcing the death plunged the Ryerson 
family into mourning and they boarded the first steamship 
for this countrj^ If happened to be the Titanic, and the 
death note f^mme near being the cause of the blotting out o*' 
the entire family. 

The children who accompanied them were Miss Susan P. 
Ryerson, Miss Emily B. Ryerson and John Ryerson. The 
latter is 12 years old. 

They did not know their son intended to spend the Easter 
holidays at their home at Haverford, Pa. until they were 
informed of his death. John Lewis Hoffman, also of Haverfor*^ 
and a student of Yale, was killed with young Ryerson. 

The two were, hurrying to Philadelphia to escort ^ fellow- 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 271 

student to his train. In turning out of the road to pass a cart 
the motor car crashed into a pole in front of the entrance to the 
estate of Mrs. B. Frank Clyde. The college men were picked 
up unconscious and died in the Bryn Mawr Hospital. 

G. Heide Norris of Philadelphia, who went to New York 
to meet the surviving members of the Ryerson family, told 
of a happy incident at the last moment as the Carpathia 
swung close to the pier. There had been no positive informa- 
tion that young "Jack" Ryerson was among those saved — 
indeed, it was feared that he had gone down with the Ti- 
tanic, like his father, Arthur Ryerson. 

Mr. Norris spoke of the feeling of relief that came over 
him as, watching from the pier, he saw ''Jack" Ryerson 
come from a cabin and stand at the railing. The name of 
the boy was missing from some of the lists and for two days 
it was reported that he had perished. 

CAPTAIN ROSTRON's REPORT 

Lees than 24 hours after the Cunard Line steamship Car- 
pathia came in as a rescue ship with survivors of the Titanic 
disaster, she sailed again for the Mediterranean cruise which 
she originally started upon last week. Just before the liner 
sailed, H. S. Bride, the second Marconi wireless operator of 
the Titanic, who had both of his legs crushed on a life-boat, 
was carried off on the shoulders of the ship's officers to St. 
Vincent's Hospital. 

Captain A. H. Rostron, of the Carpathia, addressed an 
official report, giving his account of the Carpathia's rescue 



272 THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 

work, to the general manager of the Cunard Line, Liverpool. 
The report read : "I beg to report that at 12.35 a. m. Monday 
18th inst. I was informed of urgent message from Titanic 
with her position. I immediately ordered ship turned around 
and put her in course for that position, we being then 58 
miles S. 52 — E. 'T' from her; had heads of all departments 
called and issued what I considered the necessary orders, to 
be in preparation for any emergency. 

"At 2.40 A. M. saw flare half a point on port bow. Taking 
this for granted to be ship, shortly after we sighted our first 
iceberg. I had previously had lookouts doubled, knowing 
that Titanic had struck ice, and so took every care and pre- 
caution. We soon found ourselves in a field of bergs, and had 
to alter course several times to clear bergs; weather fine, and 
clear, light air on sea, beautifully clear night, though dark. 

*'We stopped at 4 a. m., thus doing distance in three hours 
and a half, picking up the first boat at 4.10 a. m. ; boat in charge 
of officer, and he reported that Titanic had foundered. At 
8.30 A. M. last boat picked up. AH survivors aboard and all 
boats accounted for, viz., fifteen life-boats, one boat aban- 
doned, two Berthon boats alongside (saw one floating upwards 
among wreckage), and according to second ofiicer (senior ofii- 
cer saved) one Berthon boat had not been launched, it having 
got jammed, making sixteen life-boats and four Berthon boats 
accounted for. By the time we had cleared first boat it was 
breaking day, and I could see all within area of four miles. 
We also saw that we were surrounded by icebergs, large and 
smaU, huge field of drift ice with large and small bergs in it, 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 273 

the ice field trending from N. W. round W, and S. to S. E., as 
far as we could see either way, 

*'At 8 A. M. the Leyland S. S, California came up. I gave 
him the principal news and asked him to search and I would 
proceed to New York; at 8.50 proceeded full speed while 
researching over vicinity of disaster, and while we were getting 
people aboard I gave orders to get spare hands along and swing 
in all our boats, disconnect the fall and hoist up as many Ti- 
tanic boats as possible in our davits; also get some on forecastle 
heads by derricks. We got thirteen lifeboats, six on forward 
deck and seven in davits. After getting all survivors aboard 
and while searching I got a clergyman to offer a short prayer 
of thankfulness for those saved, and also a short burial service 
for their loss, in saloon. 

"Before deciding definitely where to make for, I conferred 
with Mr, Ismay, and as he told me to do what I thought 
best, I informed him, I considered New York best. I knew 
we should require clean blankets, provisions and clean linen, 
even if we went to the Azores, as most of the passsengers 
saved were women and children, and they hysterical, not 
knowing what medical attention they might require, I 
thought it best to go to New York. I also thought it would 
be better for Mr, Ismay to go to New York or England as 
soon as possible, and knowing I should be out of wireless 
communication very soon if I proceeded to Azores, it left 
Hahfax, Boston and New York, so I chose the latter. 

"Again, the passengers were aU hysterical about ice, and I 
pointed out to Mr, Ismay the possibilities of seeing ice if I 

18 



274 THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 

went to Halifax. Then I knew it would be best to keep in 
touch with land stations as best I could. We have experi- 
enced great difficulty in transmitting news, also names of sur- 
vivors. Our wireless is very poor, and again we have had so 
many interruptions from other ships and also messages from 
shore (principally press, which we ignored). I gave instructions 
to sefid first all official messages, then names of passengers, then 
survivors' private messages. We had haze early Tuesday 
morning for several hours; again more or less aU Wednesday 
from 5.30 a, m. to 5 p. m.; strong south-southwesterly 
winds and clear weather Thursday, with moderate rough sea, 
''I am pleased to say that all survivors have been very 
plucky. The majority of women, first, second and third 
class, lost their husbands, and, considering all, have been 
wonderfully well, Tuesday our doctor reported all survivors 
physically well. Our first class passengers have behaved 
splendidly, given up their cabins voluntarily and supplied 
the ladies with clothes, etc. We all turned out of our cabins 
and gave them to survivors — saloon, smoking room, library, 
etc., also being used for sleeping accommodation. Our crew, 
also turned out to let the crew of the Titanic take their quar- 
ters. I am pleased to state that owing to preparations made 
for the comfort of survivors, none were the worse for exposure, 
etc. I beg to specially mention how willing and cheerful the 
whole of the ship's company behaved, receiving the highest 
praise from everybody^ And I can assure you I am very 
proud to have such a company under my command. 






THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 



276 



The folio wing list of the survivors and dead contains the latest revisions and 
corrections of the White Star Line officials, and was furnished by them exclusively 
for this book. 

LIST OF SURVIVORS 

FIRST CABIN 



Anderson, Harry. 

Antoinette, Miss. 

Appieranelt, Miss. 

Appleton. Mrs. E. D. 

Abbott, Mrs. Rose. 

Almson, Master, and nurse. 

Andrews, Miss Cornelia I. 

Allen, Miss. E. W. 

AsTOR, Mrs. John Jacob, and maid. 

Aubeart, Mme. N., and maid. 

Barratt, Karl B. 

Besette, Miss. 

Barkworth, a. H. 

BucKNELL, Mrs. W. 

Bowerman, Miss E. 

Brown, Mrs. J. J. 

Burns, Miss C. M. 

Bishop, Mr. and Mrs. D. H. 

Blank, H. 

Bessina, Miss A. 

Baxter, Mrs. James. 

Bratton, George. 

Bonnell, Miss Lily. 

Brown, Mrs. J. M. 

BowEN, Miss G. C. 

Beckwith, Mr. and Mrs. R. L. 

BisLEY, Mr. and Mrs. 

Bonnell, Miss C. 

Cassebeee, Mrs. H. A. 
Cardeza, Mrs. J. W. 
Candell, Mrs. Churchill. 
Case, Howard B. 
Camarion, Kenard. 
Casseboro, Miss D. D. 
Clabk, Mrs. W. M. 



Chibinace, Mrs. B. C 

Charslton, W. M. 

Crosby, Mrs. E. G. 

Carter, Miss Lucille. 

Calderhead, E. p. 

Chandanson, Miss Victorine. 

Cavendish, Mrs. Turrell, and maid. 

Chafee, Mrs. H. I. 

Cardeza, Mr. Thomas. 

CuMMiNGS, Mrs. J. 

Chevre, Paul. 

Cherry, Miss Gladys. 

Chambers, Mr. and Mrs. N. C. 

Carter, Mr. and Mrs. W. E. 

Carter, Master William. 

CoMPTON, Mrs. A. T. 

CoMPTON, Miss S. R. 

Crosby, Mrs. E. G. 

Crosby, Miss Harriet. 

Cornell, Mrs. R. C. 

Chibnall, Mrs. E. 

Douglas, Mrs. Fred. 

Db Villiers, Mme. 

Daniel, Miss Sarah. 

Daniel, Robert W. 

Davidson, Mr. and Mrs. Thornton 

and family. 
Douglas, Mrs. Walter, and maid. 
Dodge, Miss Sarah. 
Dodge, Mrs. Washington, and son. 
Dick, Mr. and Mrs. A. A. 
Daniell, H. Haren. 
Drachensted, a. 
Daly, Peter Do 

Endues, Miss Carolinb. 
Ellis, Miss. 



276 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 



LIST OF SURVIVORS— FIRST CABIN (CoimmjED) 



Eaenshaw, Mrs. Boulton. 

EusTia, Miss E, 
Emmock, Philip E. 

Flagenheim, Mrs. Antoinette. 
Franicatelli, Miss. 
Flynn, J. I. 
Fortune, Miss Alice. 
Fortune, Miss Ethel. 
Fortune, Mrs. Mark. 
Fortune, Miss Mabel. 
Frauenthal, Dr. and Mrs. H, W. 
Frauenthal, Mr. and Mrs, T. G. 
Frolicher, Miss Margaret. 
Frolicher, Max and Mrs. 
Frolicher, Miss N. 
Futrelle, Mrs. Jacques. 

Gracie, Colonel Archibald. 
Graham, Mr. and Mrs. William. 
Graham, Miss M. 
Gordon, Sir Cosmo Duff. 
Gordon, Lady. 
Gibson, Miss Dorothy. 
Goldenberg, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel. 

GOLDENBERG, MiSS ElLA. 

Greenfield, Mrs. L. P. 
Greenfield, G. B. 
Greenfield, William. 
Gibson, Mrs. Leonard. 
GooGHT, James. 

Haven, Mr. Henry B. 

Harris, Mrs. H. B. 

HoLVERSON, Mrs. Alex. 

Hoqeboom, Mrs. J. C. 

Hawksford, W. J. 

Harper, Henry, and man servant. 

Harper, Mrs. H. S. 

Hold, Miss J. A. 

Hope, Nina. 

HoYT, Mr. and Mrs, Fbed. 

HOBNER, tlSNHY E. 



Harder, Mr. and Mrs. George. 
Hays, Mrs. Charles M., and daughter. 
HipPACH, Miss Jean. 
HippACH, Mrs. Ida S. 

IsMAY, J. Bruce. 

Jenasco, Mrs. J. 

Kimball, Mr. and Mrs. Ed. N. 
Kennyman, F. a. 
Kenchen, iviiss Emile. 

Longley, Miss G. F. 
Leader, Mrs. A. F. 
Leahy, Miss Nora. 
Lavory, Miss Bertha. 
Lines, Mrs. Ernest. 
Lines, Miss Mary. 
LiNDSTROM, Mrs. Sinqird. 
Lesneur, Gustave, Jr. 

Madill, Miss Georgette A, 
Mahan, Mrs. 
Melicard, Mme. 
Menderson, Miss Letta. 
Maimy, Miss Roberta. 
Marvin, Mrs. D. W. 
Marechell, Pierre. 
Maroney, Mrs. R. 
Meyer, Mrs. E. I. 
Mock, Mr. P. E. 
Middle, Mme. M. Ouve. 
Minahan, Miss Daisy. 
Minahan, Mrs. W. E. 
McGough, James. 

Newell, Miss Alice. 
Newell, Miss Madeline. 
Newell, Washington, 

Newson, Miss Helen. 

O'CoNNELL, Miaa R. 
OannBY, E. C. 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 



277 



LIST OF SURVIVORS— FIRST CABIN (Continuei>) 



OSTtfT, Miss Helen. 
Omttnd, Fieunam, 

Panhabt, Miss Ninette, 
Pears, Mrs. E. 
PoMROT, Miss Ellen. 
Potter, Mrs. Thomas, Jr. 
Peuchen, Major Arthur. 
Pebrcault, Miss A. 

Rybrbon, John. 

Renago, Mrs. Mamam. 

Ranelt, Miss Appib. 

Rothschild, Mrs. Lord Martin. 

Rosenbaum, Miss Edith. 

Rheims, Mr. and Mrs George. 

RosiBLE, Miss H. 

Rothes, CoitntesSc 

Robert, Mrs. Edna, 

rolmane, c. 

Rterson, Miss Susan P. 

Rtewson, Miss Emily. 

Rterson, Mrs. Arthur, and maid. 

Stone, Mrs. George M. 
Skeller, Mrs. William. 
Segesser, Miss Emma. 
Seward, Fred. K. 
Shutter, Miss. 
Sloper, William T, 
Swift, Mrs. F. Joel. 
Schabert, Mrs. Paul. 
Sheddel, Robert Douglass. 
Snyder, Mr. and Mrs. John, 
Serepeca, Miss Augusta. 
Silverthorn, R. Spencer, 
Saalfeld, Adolf. 
Stahelin, Max. 
SiMoiNus, Alfonsius, 



Smith, Mrs. Lucien P. 

Stephenson, Mrs. Walter, 

Solomon, Abraham, 

SiLVET, Mrs. William B. 

Stenmel, Mr. and Mrs. Heleert 

Spencer, Mrs, W. A., and maid. 

Slayter, Miss Hilda. 

Spedden, Mr. and Mrs. F. O., and child^ 

Steffanson, H, B. 

Straus, Mrs., maid of. 

Schabert, Mrs. Emma, 

Slinter, Mrs, E, 

Simmons, A. 

Taylor, Miss, 

Tucker, Mrs., and maid, 

Thayer, Mrs. J. B, 

Thayer, J. B., Jr. 

Taussig, Miss Ruth, 

Taussig, Mrs. E. 

Thor, Miss Ella. 

Thorne, Mrs. G. 

Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. E. Z, 

Trout, Miss Jessie. 

Tucker, Gilbert, 

woolner, h'^ih. 

Ward, Miss anna. 

Williams, Richard M., Jb, 

Warren, Mrs. F. 

Wilson, Miss Helen A„ 

WiLLiARD, Miss C. 

Wick, Miss Mary, 

Wick, Geo, 

WiDENER, valet of, 

WiDENER, Mrs. George D., and maid. 

White, Mrs. J. Stuart. 

Young, Miss MarMo 



278 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 



LIST OF SURVIVORS— SECOND CABIN 



Abesson, MrSo HannAo 

Abbott, Mrs. R. 

Argenia, Mrs,, and two children. 

Angel, F. 

Angle, William. 

Baumthorpb, Mrs. L. 

Balls, Mrs. Ada E. 

Buss, Miss Kate. 

Becker, Mrs. A. O., and three children-. 

Beane, Edward. 

Beane, Mrs. Ethel, 

Brthl, Miss D. 

Beesley, Mr. L. 

Brown, Mr. T. W, S. 

Brown, Miss E. 

Brown, Mrs. 

Benthan, Lillian W. 

Btstron, Karolina. 

Bright, Dagmar. 

Bright, Daisy, 

Clarke, Mrs. Ada. 
Cameron, Miss. C. 
Caldwell, Albert F, 
Caldwell, Mrs. Sylvan, 
Caldwell, Alden, infant. 
Cristy, Mr. and Mrs. 
Collyer, Mrs. Charlotte. 
Collyer, Miss Marjorie. 
Christy, Mrs. Alice. 
Collet, Stuart. 
Christa, Miss Ducia. 
Charles, William. 
Croft, Millie Mall. 

Doling, Mrs. Elsie, 
Drew, Mrs. Lulu. 
Davis, Mrs. Agnes. 
Davis, Miss Mary. 
Davis, John M. 
Duvan, Florentine, 
Duvan, Miss A. 
Davidson, Miss Mart, 



Doling, Miss Ada. 
Driscoll, Mrs. B. 
Deystrom, Caroline. 

Emcarmacion, Mrs. Rinaldo. 

Fauktthorpe, Mrs. Lizzie, 
FoRMERY, Miss Ellen. 

Garside, Ethel. 
Gerrecai, Mrs. Marcy, 
Genovese, Angere, 

Hart, Mrs. Esther, 

Hart, Eva. 

Harris, George. 

Hewlett, Mrs. Mart, 

Hebber, Miss S. 

Hoffman, Lola. 

Hoffman, Louis, 

Harper, Nina. 

Hold, Stephen. 

Hold, Mrs. Anna. 

HosoNO, Masabumi, 

Hocking, Mr. and Mrs. George. 

Hocking, Miss Nellie. 

Herman, Mrs. Jane, 2 daughters 

Healy, Nora, 

Hanson, Jennie. 

Hamatainen, W. 

Hamatainen, Anna. 

Harnlin, Anna, and child, 

Ilett, Bertha. 

Jackson, Mrs. Amy, 
Juliet, Luwche. 
Jerwan, Mary, 
juhon, podro. 
Jacobson, Mrs. 

Keane, Miss Nora H, 
Kelly, Mrs. F. 
Kantar, Mrs. S. 

Leitch, Jessie, 

Laroche, Mrs. and Miss Simmonb, 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 



279 



LIST OF SURVIVORS— SECOND CABIN (Continued) 



Lakochb, Miss Louise. 
Lehman, Bertha. 
Lauch, Mrs. Alex. 
Laniore, Amelia. 
Ltstrom, Mrs. C. 

Mellinger, Elizabeth. 
Mellinger, child. 
Marshall, Mrs. Katje. 
Mallett, a. 

Mallett, Mrs. and child. 
Mange, Paula. 
Mare, Mrs. Florence. 
Mellor, W. J. 
McDearmont, Miss Lela. 
McGowAN, Anna. 

Nye, Elizabeth. 
Nasser, Mrs. Delia. 
NussA, Mrs. A. 

OxENHAM, Percy J. 

Phillips, Alice. 
Pallas, Emilio. 
Padro, Julian. 
Prinskt, Rosa. 
PoRTALUPPi, Emilio. 
Parsh, Mrs. L. 
Plett, B. 

Quick, Mrs. Jane. 
Quick, Mrs. Vera W. 
Quick, Miss Phyllis. 

Reinardo, Miss E. 



RiDSDALE, Lucy. 
Renoup, Mrs. Lily. 
RuGG, Miss Emily. 
Richards, M. 
Rogers, Miss Selina. 
Richards, Mrs. Emilia^ two boys, and 
Mr. Richards, Jr. 

Simpson, Miss. 
SiNCocK, Miss Maude. 

Sinkkonnen, Anna. 
Smith, Miss Marion. 

SiLVEN, LyLLE. 

Trant, Mrs J. 
Toomey, Miss. E. 
Troutt, Miss E. 
Troutt, Miss Ceceua. 

Ware, Miss H. 

Watter, Miss N. 

Wilhelm, Chas. 

Wat, Mrs. A., and two children. 

Williams, Richard M., Jr. 

Weisz, Mathilde. 

Webber, Miss Susie. 

Wright, Miss Marion. 

Watt, Miss Bessie. 

Watt, Miss Bertha. 

West, Mrs. E. A. 

West, Miss Constance. 

West, Miss Barbara. 

Wells, Addie. 

Wells, Master. 

Wells, Miss. 



A list of surviving third cabin passengers and crew ia, omitted owing to the im* 
possibility of obtaining the correct names of many. 

ROLL OF THE DEAD 

FIRST CABIN 
Allison, H. J. Artagaveytia, Mr. Ramon. 

Allison, Mrs., and maid. Astor, Col. J. J., and servant. 

Allison, Miss. Anderson, Walker. 

Andrews, Thomas. 



280 



THE TRAGIC HOME-GOMING 



ROLL OF THE DEAD— FiRST CABIN (Continued) 



Beattib, T. 

bsandeis, e. 

BucKNELL, Mrs. William, maid of. 

Batimann, J. 

Baxter, Mr. and Mrs. Quigq. 

Bjornstrom, H. 

BiRNBAUM, Jacob. 

Blackwell, S. W. 

borbbank, j. j. 

BowEN, Miss. 

Bradt, John B. 

Brbwe, Arthur J. 

Butt, Major A. 

Clark, Walter M. 
Clifford, George Q. 
Collet, E. P. 

Cardeza, T. D. M., servant of. 
Cardeza, Mrs. J. W., maid of. 
Carlson, Frank. 
CORRAN, F. M. 
CORRAN, J. P. 

Chafee, Mr. H. I. 
CmsHOLM, Robert. 
Compton, a. T. 
Grafton, John B. 
Crosbt, Edward G. 
CuMMiNGS, John Bbadlet. 

Dulles, William C. 

Douglas, W. D. 

Douglas, Master R., nurse of. 

Evans, Miss E, 

Fortune, Mark. 
Foreman, B. L. 
Fortune, Charles. 
Franklin, T. P. 
futrelle, j. 

Gee, Arthur. 
Goldenberg, E. L. 
Goldschmidt, G. B. 
GiGLio, Victor. 
Guoqbnheim, BbNJAMINo 



Hays, Charles M. 
Hays, Mrs. Charles, maid of. 
Head, Christopher. 
Hilliard, H. H. 

HiPKINS, W. E. 

HooENHEiM, Mrs. A. 

Harris, Henry B. 

Harp, Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. 

Harp, Misa Margaret, and maid. 

HOLVERSON, A. M. 

Isham, Miss A. E. 

IsMAY, J. Bruce, servant of, 

Julian, H. F. 
Jones, C. C. 

Kent, Edward A. 

Kenyon, Mr. and Mrs. F. R. 

Klaber, Herman. 

Lamberth, Williams, F. P=, 
Lawrence, Arthur. 
Long, MIlton. 
Lewy, E. G. 
LORING, J. H. 
Lingrey, Edward. 

Maguire, J. E. 
McCaffry, T. 
McCaffry, T., Jb. 
McCarthy, T. 
Middleton, J. C. 
Millet, Frank D. 
Minahan, Dr. 
Meyer, Eeqar J. 
MoLSON, H. M. 
Moore, C, servant. 

Natsch, Charles. 
Newall, Miss T. 
Nicholson, A. S. 

OVIES, S. 

Osnout, Alfred 1^. 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 



281 



ROLL OF THE DEAD— FIRST CABIN (Continued) 



Parb, M. H. W. 

Pears, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, 

Penasco, Mr. and Mrs, Victor, 

Partner, M. Ao 

Payne, V. 

Pond, Florence, and maid. 

Porter, Walter, 

Puffer, C. C, 

Rbuchlin, J. 

Robert, Mrs. E., maid of. 

RoEBLiNQ, Washington A., 2do 

Rood, Hugh R. 

Roes, J. Hugo. 

Rothes, Countess, maid of, 

Rothschild, M. 

RowE, Arthur. 

Rtekson, a. 

SiLVET, William B. 

Spedden, Mrs. F. O., maid of, 

Spencer, W. A, 

Stead, W. T. 

Stbhli, Mr. and Mrs. Max Frolicher, 

Stone, Mrs. George, maid of. 



Straus, Mr. and Mrs. Isidob. 

Sutton, Frederick, 

Smart, John M, 

Smith, Clinch, 

Smith, R. W, 

Smith, L. P. 

Taussig, Emil, 
Thayer, Mrs., maid of, 
Thater, John B, 
Thorne, G. 

Vanderhoof, WyCKOFPo 

Walker, W. A, 

Warren, F. M, 

White, Percival A, 

White, Richard F. 

Widener, G. D. 

WiDENER, Harry. 

Wood, Mr. and Mrs. Frank I 

Weir, J. 

Williams, Duane, 

Wright, George, 



SECOND CABIN 



Abelson, Samson, 
Andrew, Frank, 
Ashby, John. 
Aldworth, C, 
Andrew, Edgab, 

Bracken, James H, 
Brown, Mrs, 
Banfield, Fred, 
Bright, Narl. 
Brailt, bandsman. 
Breicoux, bandsman, 
Bailey, Percy. 
Bainbridge, C. R. 
Byles, The Rev. Thomas, 
Beauchamp, H. J, 
Berq, Miss E, 



Benthan, L 
Bateman, Robert J, 
Butler, Reginald, 
BoTSFORD, Hull. 
BowEENBR, Solomon, 
Berriman, William, 

Clarke, Charles. 
Clark, bandsman. 
Corey, Mrs. C. P. 
Carter, The Rev. Ernest, 
Carter, Mrs. 
Coleridge, Reginald. 
Chapman, Charles. 
Cunningham, Alfred, 
Campbell, William. 
CoLLYBR, Harvey, 
Corbett, Mrs, Irene, 



282 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 



ROLL OF THE DEAD— SECOND CABIN (Continued) 



Chapman, John H. 
Chapman, Mrs. E. 
Colander, Eric. 
CoTTERiLL, Harry, 

Deacon, Percy. 
Davis, Charles, 
Dibben, William, 
Db Brito, Jose. 
Denborny, H. 
Drew, James. 
Drew, Master M. 
David, Master J*. W, 
doxjnton, w. j. 
Del Varlo, S. 
Del Varlo, Mrs, 

Enander, Ingvar, 
Eitemiller, G. F, 

Frost, A. 
Fynnery, Mr, 
Fatjnthorpe, H, 
Fillbrook, C. 
Funk, Annie. 
Fahlstrom, a. 
Fox, Stanley W, 

Grebnberg, S, 
Giles, Ralph. 
Gaskell, Alfred, 
Gillespie, William,, 
Gilbert, William. 
Gall, S. 
Gill, John. 
Giles, Edgar, 
Giles, Fred. 
Gale, Harry. 
Gale, Phadruch, 
Garvey, Lawrence, 

Hickman, Leonard. 
Hickman, Lewis. 
Hume, bandsman, 
Hickman, Stanley. 



Hood, Ambrose. 
Hodges, Henry P. 
Hart, Benjamin. 
Harris, Walter, 
Harper, John, 
Harbeck, W. H. 
Hoffman, Mr. 
Herman, Mrs. S, 
Howard, B, 
Howard, Mrs. E, T, 
Hale, Reginald, 
Hiltunen, M, 
Hunt, George, 

Jacobson, MRo 
Jacobson, Sydney, 
Jeppery, Clifford. 
Jeffery, Ernest, 
Jenkin, Stephen, 
Jarvis, John D; 

Keane, Daniel, 
KiRKLAND, Rev. C 
Karnes, Mrs. F. G. 
Keynaldo, Miss, 
Krillner, J. H. 
Krins, bandsman, 
Karines, Mrs, 
Kantar, SelnAo 
Knight, R. 

Lengam, John, 
Levy, R. J, 
Lahtiman, Willias!« 
Lauch, Charles, 
Leyson, R. W, N, 
Laroche, Joseph, 
Lamb, J. J, 

McKane, Peter. 
Milling, Jacob, 
Mantoila, Joseph. 
Malachard, Noll^ 

MORAWECK, Db, 



'ii 



THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING 



283 



ROLL OF THE DEAD— SECOND CABIN (Continued) 



Manqiovacchi, E. 
McCrae, Arthur G. 
McCrie, James M. 
McKane, Peter D. 
MuDD, Thomas, 
Mack, Mrs. Mary. 
Marshall, Henry. 
Mayberg, Frank H. 
Meyer, August. 
Myles, Thomas. 
Mitchell, Henry. 
Matthews, W. J. 

Nessen, Israel. 
NiCHOLLS, Joseph C. 
Norman, Robert Do 

Otter, Richard. 

Phillips, Robert. 
PoNESELL, Martin. 
Pain, Dr. Alfred. 
Parkes, Frank. 
Pengelly, F. 
Pernot, Rene. 
Pbruschitz, Rev. 
Parker, Clifford. 

PULBAUM, FRAIJK. 

Renouf, Peter H. 
Rogers, Harry. 
Reeves, David. 



Slemen, R. J. 
SoBEY, Hayden. 
Slatter, Miss H. M. 
Stanton, Ward. 
Sword, Hans K. 
Stokes, Philip J. 
Sharp, Peroival. 
Sedgwick, Mr. F. W. 
Smith, Augustus. 
Sweet, George. 
Sjostedt, Ernst. 

Taylor, bandsman. 
TuRPiN, William J. 
TuRPiN, Mrs. Dorothy^ 
Turner, John H. 
Troupiansky, M. 
Tirvan, Mrs. A. 

Veale, James. 

Watson, E. 
Woodward, bandsman. 
Ware, William J. 
Weisz, Leopold. 
Wheadon, Edward. 
Ware, John J. 
West, E. Arthur. 
Wheeler, Edwin. 
Werman, Samuel. 



The total death list was 1635. Third cabin passengers and crew are not included 
in the list here given owing to the impossibility of obtaining the exact names of many. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

Other Great Marine Disasters 

2>eadly danger op icebergs — dozens of ships perish m 
collision^ — other disasters 

THE danger of coUision with icebergs has always been 
one of the most deadly that confront the mar- 
iner. Indeed, so well recognized is this peril of the 
Newfoundland Banks, where the Labrador current in the 
early spring and summer months floats southward its ghostly 
argosy of icy pinnacles detached from the polar ice caps, that 
the government hydrographic offices and the maritime ex- 
changes spare no pains to collate and disseminate the latest 
bulletins on the subjects 

THE ARIZONA 

A most remarkable case of an iceberg collision is that of the 
Guion Liner, Arizona, in 1879. She was then the greyhound of 
the Atlantic, and the largest ship afloat — 5750 tons— except 
the Great Eastern. Leaving New York in November for 
Liverpool, with 509 souls aboard, she was coursing across the 
Banks, with fair weather but dark, when, near midnight, 
about 250 miles east of St. John's, she rammed a monster 

284 



OTHER GREAT MARINE DISASTERS 



285 



Ire iBland at full speed—eighteen knots. Terrific was the 
impact. 

The welcome word was passed along that the ship, though 
sorely stricken, would still float until she could make 
harboro The vast white terror had lain across her course. 




THE SHAPE OF AN ICEBERG 

Showing the bulk and formation under water and the consequent danger 
to vessels even without actual contact with the visible part of the iceberg. 

stretching so far each way that, when described, it was too 
late to alter the helm. Its giant shape filled the foreground, 
towering high above the masts, grim and gaunt and ghastly, 
immovable as the adamantine buttresses of a frowning sea- 
board, while the lines lurched and staggered like a wounded 



286 OTHER GREAT MARINE DISASTERS 

thing in agony as her engines slowly drew her back from the 
rampart against which she had flung herself. 

She was headed for St. John's at slow speed, so as not to 
strain the bulkhead too much, and arrived there thirty-six 
hours later. That little port — the crippled ship's hospital — 
has seen many a strange sight come in from the sea, but never 
a more astounding spectacle than that which the Arizona 
presented the Sunday forenoon she entered there. 

''Begob, captain!" said the pilot, as he swung himself over 
the rail. ''I've heard of carrying coals to Newcastle, but this 
is the first time I've seen a steamer bringing a load of ice into 
St. John's." 

They are a grim race, these sailors, and, the danger over, 
the captain's reply was: "We were lucky, my man, that we 
didn't all go to the bottom in an ice box," 

DOZENS OP SHIPS PERISH 

But to the one wounded ship that survives collision with a 
berg, a dozen perish. Presumably, when the shock comes, it 
loosens their bulkheads and they fill and founder, or the crash 
may injure the boilers or engines, which explode and tear out 
the sides, and the ship goes down like a plummet. As long 
ago as 1841, the steamer President, with 120 people apbard, 
crossing from New York to Liverpool in March, vanished 
from human ken. In 1854, in the same month, the City of 
Glasgow left Liverpool for Philadelphia with 480 souls, and 
was never again heard of. In February, 1856^ the Pacific^ 
.from Liverpool for New York, carrying 185 jimrmim, psm/^ 



OTHER GREAT MARINE DISASTERS 287 

away down to a sunless sea. In May, 1870, the City of Bos- 
ton, from that port for Liverpool, mustering 191 souls, met a 
similar fate. It has always been thought that these ships 
were sunk by collision with icebergs or floes. As shipping 
traffic has expanded, the losses have been more frequent. In 
Februar3'', 1892, the Naronic, from Liverpool for New York; 

t 

in the same month in 1896, the State of Georgia, from Aber- 
deen for Boston; in February, 1899, the Alleghany, from New 
York for Dover; and once more in February, 1902, the 
Huronian, from Liverpool for St. John's — all disappeared with- 
out leaving a trace. Between February and May, the Grand 
Banks are most infested with ice, and collision therewith is 
the most likely explanation of the loss of these steamers, aU 
well manned and in splendid trim, and meeting only the storms 
which scores of other ships have braved without a scathe. 

TOLL OP THE SEA 

Among the important marine disasters recorded since 1866 
are the following: 

1866, Jan. 11. — Steamer London, on her way to Melbourne, 
foundered in the Bay of Biscay; 220 lives lost. 

1866, Oct. 3. — Steamer Evening Star, from New York to 
New Orleans, foundered; about 250 lives lost. 

1867, Oct. 29. — Royal Mail steamers Rhone and Wye and 
about fifty other vessels driven ashore and wrecked at St. 
Thomas, West Indies, by a hurricane; about 1,000 lives^lost. 

1873, Jan. 22. — British steamer Northfleet sunk in collisioa 
off Dungenessf 300 lives lost. 



288 OTHER GREAT MARINE DISASTERS 

1873, Nov. 23.— White Star liner Atlantic wrecked off 
Nova Scotia; 547 lives lost. 

1873, Nov. 23. — French line Ville du Havre, from New 
York to Havre, in collision with ship Locharn and sunk in 
sixteen minutes; 110 lives lost. 

1874, Dec. 24, — Emigrant vessel Cospatrick took fire and 
sank off Auckland; 476 lives lost. 

1875, May 7. — Hamburg Mail steamer SchiUer wrecked 
in fog on Scilly Islands; 200 lives lost. 

1875, Nov. 4. — ^American steamer Pacific in collision thirtj^ 
miles southwest of Cape Flattery; 236 lives lost. 

1878, March 24. — British training ship Eurydice, a frigate, 
foundered near the Isle of Wight; 300 lives lost. 

1878, Sept. 3. — British iron steamer Princess Alice sunk 
in the Thames River; 700 lives lost. 

1878, Dec. 18.— French steamer Byzantin sunk in collision 
in the Dardanelles with the BritiBh steamer Rinaldo; 210 
lives lost. 

1879, Dec. 2."~Steamer Borussia sank off the coast of Spain; 
174 lives lost. 

1880, Jan. 31.— British trading ship Atlanta left Bermuda 
with 290 men and was never heard from. 

1881, Aug. 30. — Steamer Teuton wrecked off the Cape of 
Good Hope; 200 lives lost. 

1883, July 3. — Steamer Daphne turned turtle in the Clyde; 
124 lives lost. 

1884, Jan. 18. — ^American steamer City of Columbus 
wrecked off Gay Head Light, Massachus^^ttsj 99 li^^es lost. 



OTHER GREAT MARINE DISASTERS 289 

1884, July 23. — Spanish steamer Gijon and British steamer 
Lux in collision off Finisterre; 150 lives lost. 

1887, Jan. 29. — Steamer Kapunda in collision with bark 
Ada Melore off coast of Brazil; 300 lives lost. 

1887, Nov. 15. — British steamer Wah Young caught fire 
between Canton and Hong Kong; 400 lives lost. 

1888, Sept. 13. — Italian steamship Sud America and steamer 
La France in collision near the Canary Islands; 89 lives 
lost. 

1889, March 16. — ^United States warships Trenton, Van- 
dalia and Nipsic and German ships Adler and Eber wrecked 
on Samoan Islands; 147 lives lost. 

1890, Jan. 2. — Steamer Persia wrecked on Corsica; 130 
lives lost. 

1890, Feb. 17. — British steamer Duburg wrecked in the 
China Sea; 400 lives lost. 

1890, March 1. — British steamship Quetta foundered in 
Torres Straits; 124 lives lost. 

1890, Dec. 27. — British steamer Shanghai burned in China 
Seas; 101 lives lost. 

1891, March 17. — ^Anchor liner Utopia in collision with 
British steamer Anson off Gibraltar and sunk; 574 lives lost. 

1892, Jan. 13. — Steamer Namehow wrecked in China Sea; 
414 lives lost. 

1892, Oct. 28. — ^Anchor liner Romania, wrecked off Portu- 
gal; 113 lives lost. 

1893, Feb. 8.— Anchor liner Trinairia, wrecked off Spain j 
116 hves losto 

19 



290 OTHER GREAT MARINE DISASTERS 

1894, June 25, — Steamer Norge, wrecked on Rockall Reefy 
in the North Atlantic; nearly 600 lives lost. 

1895, Jan. 30. — German steamer Elbe sunk in collision with 
British steamer Crathie in North Sea; 335 lives losto 

1898, July 4. — French line steamer La Bourgogne in col- 
lision with British sailing vessel Cromartyshire; 571 lives lost. 

1898, Nov. 27. — ^American steamer Portland, wrecked off 
Cape Cod, Mass.; 157 lives lost. 

1901, April lo — Turkish transport Aslam wrecked in the 
Red Sea; over 180 lives lost. 

1902, July 21. — Steamer Primus sunk in collision with the 
steamer Hansa on the Lower Elbe; 112 lives lost» 

•\ 1903, June 7. — French steamer Libau sunk in collision with 
steamer Insulerre near Marseilles; 150 lives lost. 

1904, June 15. — General Slocum, excursion steamboat, took 
fire going through Hell Gate, East River; more than 1000 
lives lost. 

i 1906, Jan. 21. — Brazilian battleship Aquidaban sunk near 
Rio Janeiro by an explosion of the powder magazines; 212 
lives lost. 

1906, Jan. 22. — ^American steamer Valencia lost off Cloose, 
Pacific Coast; 140 lives lost. 

1906, Aug. 4. — Italian emigrant ship Sirio struck a rock off 
Cape Palos; 350 lives lost. 

1906, Oct. 21. — Russian steamer Variag, on leaving Vladi- 
vostock, struck by a torpedo and sunk; 140 lives lost. 
' 1907, Feb. 12. — ^American steamer Larchmond sunk in col- 
lision off Rhode Island coast j 131 lives losto 



OTHER GREAT MARINE DISASTERS 291 

1907, July 20. — ^American steamers Columbia and San 
Pedro collided on the Calif ornian coast; 100 lives iost. 

1907, Nov. 26. — Turkish steamer Kaptain foundered in the 
North Sea; 110 lives lost. 

1908, March 23. — ^Japanese steamer Mutsu Maru sunk in 
collision near Hakodate; 300 lives lost. 

1908, April 30. — ^Japanese training cruiser Matsu Shima 
sunk off the Pescadores owing to an explosion; 200 lives lost.' 

1909, Jan. 24. — Collision between the Italian steamer 
Florida and the White Star liner Republic, about 170 miles 
east of New York during a fog; a large number of lives were 
saved by the arrival of the steamer Baltic, which received the 
"C. Q. D./* or distress signal sent up by wireless by the 
Republic January 22. The Republic sank while being towed j 
6 lives lost. 

1910, Feb. 9.— French line steamer General Chanzy off 
Minorca; 200 lives lost, 

1911, Sept. 25. — ^French battleship Libert^ sunk by explo« 
mon in Toulon harbors 223 lives lost., 



CHAPTER XXIX 

Development op Shipbuilding 

evolution of water travel — increases in size op vessels 
— ^is there any limit? — ^achievements in speed — titanic 
not the last word. 

THE origin of travel on water dates back to a very- 
early period in human history, men beginning with 
the log, the inflated skin, the dug-out canoe, and 
upwards through various methods of flotation; while the 
paddle, the oar, and finally the sail served as means of pro- 
pulsion. This was for inland water travel, and many cen- 
turies passed before the navigation of the sea was dreamed 
of by adventurous mariners. 

The paintings and sculptures of early Egypt show us boats 
built of sawn planks, regularly constructed and moved both 
by oars and sails. At a later period we read of the Phoenic- 
ians, the most daring and enterprising of ancient navigators, 
who braved the dangers of the open sea, and are said by 
Herodotus to have circumnavigated Africa as early as 604 
B. C, Starting from the Ped Sea, they followed the east 
coast, rounded the Cape, and sailed north along the west 
coast to the Mediterranean, reaching Egypt again in the 
tjiird year of this enterprise. 

292 



DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPBUILDING 293 

The Carthaginians and Romans come next in the history 
of shipbuilding, confining themselves chiefly to the Medi- 
terranean, and using oars as the principal means of propul- 
don. Their galleys ranged from one to five banks of oars. The 
Roman vessels in the first Punic war were over 100 feet 
long and had 300 rowers, while they carried 120 soldiers. 
They did not use sails until about the beginning of the four- 
teenth century B. C. 

Portugal was the first nation to engage in voyages of dis- 
covery, using vessels of small size in these adventurous jour- 
neys. Spain, which soon became her rival in this field, built 
larger ships and long held the lead. Yet the ships with which 
Columbus made^ the discovery of America were of a size and 
character in which few sailors of the present day would care 
to venture far from land. 

England was later in coming into the field of adventurous 
navigation, being surpassed not only by the Portuguese and 
Spanish, but by the Dutch, in ventures to far lands. 

Europe long held the precedence in shipbuilding and enter- 
prise in navigation, but the shores of America had not long 
been settled before the venturous colonists had ships upon 
the seas. The first of these was built at the mouth of the 
Kennebec River in Maine. This was a staunch little two- 
masted vessel, which was named the Virginia, supposed to 
have been about sixty feet long and seventeen feet in beam. 
Next in time came the Restless, built in 1614 or 1615 at 
New York, by Adrian Blok, a Dutch captain whose ships 
had been burned while lying at Manhattan Isiando This 



294 DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPBUILDING 

vessel, thirty-eight feet long and of eleven feet beam, was 
employed for several years in exploring the Atlantic coast. 

With the advent of the nineteenth century a new ideal in 
naval architecture arose, that of the ship moved by steam- 
power instead of wind-power, and fitted to combat with the 
seas alike in storm and calm, with Uttle heed as to whether 
the wind was fair or foul. The steamship appeared, and grew 
in size and power until such giants of the wave as the Titanic 
and Olympic were set afloat. To the development of this 
modem class of ships our attention must now be turned. 

As the reckless cowboy of the West is fast becoming a thing 
of the past, so is the daring seaman of fame and story. In his 
place is coming a class of men miscaUed sailors, who never 
reefed a sail or coiled a cable, who do not know how to launch 
a hfe-boat or pull an oar, and in whose career we meet the 
ridiculous episode of the life-boats of the Titanic, where women 
were obliged to take the oars from their hands and row the 
boats. Thus has the old-time hero of the waves been trans- 
formed into one fitted to serve as a clown of the vaudeville 
stage. 

The advent of steam navigation came early in the nine- 
teenth century, though interesting steps in this direction 
were taken earlier. No sooner was the steam-engine developed 
than men began to speculate on it as a moving power on sea 
and land. Early among these were several Americans, OHver 
Evans, one of the first to project steam railway travel, and 
James Rumsey and John Fitch, steamboat inventors of early 
date. There were several experimenters in Europe also, but 



DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPBUILDING / 295 

the jBrst to produce a practical steamboat was Robert Fulton/ 
a native of Pennsylvania, whose successful boat, the Clermont, 
made its maiden trip up the Hudson in 1807. A crude 
affair was the Clermont, with a top speed of about seven 
miles an hour; but it was the dwarf from which the giant 
steamers of to-day have grown. 

Boats of this type quickly made their way over the Ameri- 
can rivers and before 1820 regular lines of steamboats were 
running between England and Ireland. In 1817 James Watt, 
the inventor of the practical steam-engine, crossed in a steamer 
from England to Belgium. But these short voyages were far 
surpassed by an American enterprise, that of the first ocean 
■ steamship, the Savannah, which crossed the Atlantic from 
Savannah to Liverpool in 1819. 

(, Twelve years passed before this enterprise was repeated, 
the next steam voyage being in 1831, when the Royal William 
crossed from Quebec to England. She used coal for fuel, 
having utilized her entire hold to store enough for the voyage. 
The Savannah had burned pitch-pine under her engines, for 
in America wood was long used as fuel for steam-making 
purposes. As regards this matter, the problem of fuel was of 
leading importance, and it was seriously questioned if a ship 
could be built to cross the Atlantic depending solely upon 
steam power. Steam-engines in those days were not very 
economical, needing four or five times as much fuel for the 
same power as the engines of recent date. 

It was not until 1838 that the problem was solved. On 
April 23d of that year a most significant event took place. 



296 DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPBUILDING 

Two steamships dropped anchor in the harbor of New York, 
the Sirius and the Great Western. Both of these had made the 
entire voyage under steam, the Sirius, in eighteen and a half 
and the Great Western in fourteen and a half days, measuring 
from Queenstown. The Sirius had taken on board 450 tons 
of coal, but all this was burned by the time Sandy Hook was 
reached, and she had to burn her spare spars and forty-three 
barrels of rosin to make her way up the bay. The Great 
Western, on the contrary, had coal to spare. 

Two innovations in shipbuilding were soon introduced. 
These were the building of iron instead of wooden ships and the 
replacing of the paddle wheel by the screw propeller. The 
screw-propeller was first successfully introduced by the famous 
Swede, John Ericsson, in 1835. His propeller was tried in a 
small vessel, forty-five feet long and eight wide, which was 
driven at the rate of ten miles an hour, and towed a large 
packet ship at fair speed. Ericsson, not being appreciated 
in England, came to America to experiment. Other inventors 
were also at work in the same line. 

Their experiments attracted the attention of Isambard 
Brunei, one of the greatest engineers of the period, who was 
then engaged in building a large paddle-wheel steamer, the 
Great Britain. Appreciating the new idea, he had the engines 
of the new ship changed and a screw propeller introduced. 
This ship, a great one for the time, 322 feet long and of 
3443 tons, made her first voyage from Liverpool to New York 
in 1845, her average speed being 123^ knots an hour, the 
length of the voyage 14 days and 21 hours 



DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPBUILDING 297 

By the date named the crossing of the Atlantic by steam- 
ships had become a common event. In 1840 the British 
and Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was organized, its 
chief promoter being Samuel Cunard, of Halifax, Nova 
Scotia, whose name has long been attached to this famous 
line. 

The first fleet of the Cunard Line comprised four vessels, 
the Britannia, Acadia, Caledonia and Columbia. The Unicorn, 
sent out by this company as a pioneer, entered Boston 
harbor on June 2, 1840, being the first steamship from Europe 
to reach that port. Regular trips began with the Britannia, 
which left Liverpool on July 4, 1840. For a number of 
years later this fine enjoyed a practical monopoly of the 
steam carrying trade between England and the United States. 
Then other companies came into the field, chief among them 
being the Collins Line, started in 1849, and of short duration, 
and the Inman Line, instituted in 1850. 

We should say something here of the comforts and con- 
veniences provided for the passengers on these early lines. 
They differed strikingly from those on the leviathans of recent 
travel and were Httle, if any, superior to those on the packet 
ships, the active rivals at that date of the steamers. Then 
there were none of the comfortable smoking rooms, well- 
filled libraries, drawing rooms, electric lights, and other modern 
improvements. The saloons and staterooms were in the 
extreme after part of the vessel, but the stateroom of that 
day was little more than a closet, with two berths, one above 
,the other^ and very little standing room between these and 



298 DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPBUILDING 

the waU. By paying nearly double fare a passenger might 
secure a room for himself, but the room given him did not 
compare well even with that of small and unpretentious 
modern steamers. 

Other ocean steamship companies gradually arose, some 
of which are still in existence. But no especial change in ship- 
building was introduced until 1870, when the Oceanic Com- 
pany, now known as the White Star Line, built the Britannic 
and Germanic. These were the largest of its early ships. 
They were 468 feet long and 35 feet wide, constituting 
a new type of extreme length as compared with their 
width. In the first White Star ship, the Oceanic, the im- 
provements above mentioned were introduced, the saloons 
and staterooms being brought as near as possible to the center 
of the ship. AU the principal lines built since that date have 
followed this example, thus adding much to the comfort of 
the first-class passengers. 

Speed and economy in power also became features of 
importance, the tubular boiler and the compound engine 
being introduced. These have developed into the cylindrical, 
multitubular boiler and the triple expansion engine, in which 
a greater percentage of the power of the steam is utilized and 
four or five times the work obtained from coal over that of the 
old system. The side-wheel was continued in use in the older 
ships until this period, but after 1870 it disappeared. 

It has been said that the life of iron ships, barring dis- 
asters at sea, is unlimited, that they cannot wear out. This 
statement has not been tested,, but the fact remains that the 



DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPBUILDING 299 

older passenger ships have gone out of service and that steel 
has now taken the place of iron, as lighter and more durable. 

Something should also be said here of the steam turbine 
engine, recently introduced in some of the greatest liners, and of 
proven value in several particulars, an important one of these 
being the doing away with the vibration, an inseparable 
accompaniment of the old style engines. The Olympic and 
Titanic engines were a combination of the turbine and recipro- 
cating types. In regard to the driving power, one of the recent 
introductions is that of the multiple propeller. The twin 
screw was first applied in the City of New York, of the Inman 
line, and enabled her to make in 1890 an average speed of a 
little over six days from New York to Queenstown. The best 
record up to October, 1891, was that of the Teutonic, 
of five days, sixteen hours, and thirty minutes. Triple-screw 
propellers have since then been introduced in some of the 
greater ships, and the record speed has been cut down to the 
four days and ten hours of the Lusitania in 1908 and the 
four days, six hours and forty-one minutes of the Mauretania 
in 1910. 

The Titanic was not built especially for speed, but in every 
other way she was the master product of the shipbuilders' art. 
Progress through the centuries has been steady, and perhaps 
the twentieth century will prepare a vessel that will be unsink- 
able as well as magnificent. Until the fatal accident the 
Titanic and Olympic were considered the last words on ship- 
building! but much may still remain to be spoken. 



CHAPTER XXX 

Safety and Life-Saving Devices 

WIRELESS telegraphy — WATER-TIGHT BULKHEADS — SUB-' 
MARINE SIGNALS — LIFE-BOATS AND RAFTS — NIXON'S PON- 
TOON — LIFE-PRESERVERS AND BUOYS — ROCKETS 

THE fact that there were any survivors of the Titanic 
left to tell the story of the terrible catastrophe is 
only another of the hundreds of instances on record 
of the value of wireless telegraphy in saving life on shipboard. 
Without Marconi's invention it is altogether probable that 
the world would never have known of the nature of the 
Titanic's fate, for it is only barely within the realm of pos- 
sibility that any of the Titanic's passengers, poorly clad, 
without proper provisions of food and water, and exposed 
in the open boats to the frigid weather, would have survived 
long enough to have been picked up by a transatlantic liner 
in ignorance of the accident to the Titanic. 

Speaking (since the Titanic disaster) of the part which 
wireless telegraphy has played in the salvation of distressed 
ships, Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of this wonderful 
science, has said: 

"Fifteen years ago the curvature of the earth was looked 
upon as the one great obstacle to wireless telegraphy^ Bj 

300 



SAFETY AND LIFE-SAYING DEVICES 301 

various experiments in the Isle of Wight and at St. John's 
I finally succeeded in sending the letter S 2000 miles. 

"We have since found that the fog and the dull skies in 
the vicinity of England are exceptionally favorable for wire- 
less telegraphy." 

Then the inventor told of wireless messages being trans- 
mitted 2500 miles across the Abyssinian desert, and of prepa- 
ration for similar achievements. 

"The one necessary requirement for continued success is 
that governments keep from being enveloped in pohtical red 
tape," said he. 

"The fact that a message can be flashed across the wide 
expanse of ocean in ten minutes has exceeded my fondest 
expectations. Some idea of the progress made may be had 
by citing the fact that in eleven years the range of wireless 
telegraphy has increased from 200 to 3000 miles. 

"Not once has wireless telegraphy failed in calling and 
secluding help on the high seas. A recognition of this is shown 
in the attitude of the United States Government in compelling 
all passenger-carrying vessels entering our ports to be equipped 
with wireless apparatus." 

Of the Titanic tragedy, Marconi said: 

"I know you will all understand when I say that I entertain 
a deep feehng of gratitude because of the fact that wireless 
telegraphy has again contributed to the saving of life." 

WATER-TIGHT BULKHEADS 

One of the most essential factors in making ships safe is 
the construction of proper bulkheads to divide a ship into 



302 SAFETY AND LIFE-SAVING DEVICES 

water-tight compartments in case of injury to her hull. Of 
the modern means of forming such compartments, and of 
;the complete and automatic devices for operating the water- 
tight doors which connect them, a full explanation has abeady 
been given in the description of the Titanic's physical features, 
to which the reader is referred. A wise precaution usually 
taken in the case of twin and triple screw ships is to arrange 
the bulkheads so that each engine is in a separate compartment, 
as is also each boiler or bank of boilers and each coal bunker. 

SUBMARINE SIGNALS 

Then there are submarine signals to tell of near-by vessels 
or shores. This signal arrangement includes a small tank 
on either side of the vessel, just below the water line. Within 
each is a microphone with wires leading to the bridge. If 
the vessel is near any other or approaching shore, the sounds 
conveyed through the water from the distant object are 
heard through the receiver of the microphone. These arrange- 
ments are called the ship's ears, and whether the sounds come 
from one side of the vessel or the other, the officers can tell 
the location of the shore or ship near by. If both ears record, 
the object is ahead. 

LIFE-BOATS AND RAFTS 

The construction of life-boats adapts them for very rough 
weather. The chief essentials, of course, are ease in launch- 
ing, strength in withstanding rough water and bumping when 
beached; also strength to withstand striking against wreckage 



SAFETY AND LIFE-SAVING DEVICES 303 

or a ship's side; carrying capacity and lightness. Those 
carried on board ship are Hghter than those used in Ufe-saving 
service on shore. Safety is provided by air-tight tanks which 
insure buoyancy in case the boat is filled with water. They 
have also self-righting power in case of being overturned* like- 
wise self -emptying power. Life-boats are usually of the whale- 
boat type, with copper air-tight tanks along the side beneath 
the thwarts, and in the ends. 

Life-boats range from twenty-four to thirty feet in length 
and carry from thirty to sixty persons. The rafts carry from 
twenty to forty persons. The old-fashioned round bar 
davits can be got for $100 to $150 a set. The new style davits, 
quick launchers in type, come as low as $400 a set. 

According to some naval constructors, an ocean steamship 
can carry in davits enough boats to take care of all the passen- 
gers and crew, it being simply a question as to whether the 
steamship owners are wiUing to take up that much deck room 
which otherwise would be used for lounging chairs or for a 
promenade. 

Nowadays all life-boats are equipped with air tanks to 
prevent sinking, with the result that metal boats are as 
unsinkable as wooden ones. The metal boats are considered 
in the United States Navy as superior to wooden ones, for 
several reasons: They do not break or collapse; they do not, 
in consequence of long storage on deck, open at the seams and 
thereby spring a leak; and they are not eaten by bugs, as is 
the case with wooden boats. 

Comparatively few of the transatlantic steamships hav© 



304 



SAFETY AND LIFE-SAVING DEVICES 



adopted metal life-boats. Most of the boats are of wood, 
according to the oflScial United States Government record 
of inspection. The records show that a considerable pro- 
portion of the entire number of so-caUed ''life-boats" 
carried by Atlantic Ocean Hners are not actually life-boats 
at aU, but simply open boats, without air tanks or other special 
equipment or construction. 




CHAMBERS COLLAPSIBLE LIFE RAFT 

Life-rafts are of several kinds. They are commonly used 
on large passenger steamers where it is difficult to carry suf- 
ficient life-boats. In most cases they consist of two or more 
hoUow metal or inflated rubber floats which support a wooden 
deck. The small rafts are supplied with life-lines and oars, 
and the larger ones with Hfe-lines only, or with life-lines and 
sails. 

The collapsible feature of the Chambers raft consists of 
canvas-covered steel frames extending up twenty-five inches 
from the sides to prevent passengers from being pitched off. 



8AFETY AND LIFE-SAVING DEVICES 305 

When the rafts are not in use these side frames are folded 
down on the raft. 

The collapsible rafts are favored by the ship-owners because 
such boats take up less room; they do not have to be carried 
in the davits, and they can be stowed to any number required. 
Some of the German Unes stack their collapsible rafts one 
above another on deck. 

nixon's pontoon 

Lewis Nixon, the weU-known ship designer, suggests the 
construction of a pontoon to be carried on the after end of the 
vessel and to be made of sectional air-tight compartments. 
One compartment would accommodate the wireless outfit. 
Another compartment would hold drinking water, and stiU 
another would be filled with food. 

The pontoon would follow the line of the ship and seem to 
be a part of it. The means for releasing it before the sinking of 
the vessel present no mechanical problem. It would be too 
large and too buoyant to be sucked down with the wreck. 

The pontoon would accommodate, not comfortably but 
safely, all those who failed to find room in the Hfe-boats. 

It is Mr. Nixon's plan to instal a gas engine in one of the 
compartments. With this engine the wireless instrument 
would remain in commission and direct the rescuers after the 
ship itself had gone down, 

LIPE-PRESERVEKS AND BUOYS 

Life-preservers are chiefly of the belt or jacket type, made 
to fit about the body and rendered buoyant by slabs of cork 

20 



306 SAFETY AND LIFE-SAVING DEVICES 

sewed into the garment, or by rubber-lined air-bags. The 
use of cork is usually considered preferable, as the inflated 
articles are liable to injury, and jackets are preferable to belts 
as they can be put on more quickly. 

Life-buoys are of several types, but those most common 
are of the ring type, varjdng in size from the small one designed 
to be thrown by hand to the large hollow metal buoy capable 
of supporting several people. The latter are usually carried 
by sea-going vessels and are fitted with lamps which are auto- 
matically lighted when the buoy is dropped into the water. 

ROCKETS 

American ocean-going steamers are required to have some 
approved means of firing lines to the shore. Cunningham 
rockets and the Hunt gun are largely used. The inaccuracy 
of the rocket is of less importance when fired from a ship than 
when fired from shore. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

Seeking Safety at Sea 

one more tragic lesson — ^results of titanic disaster — 
london conference on safety at sea — ^life-belt drill — 
giant rafts — ^life-saving suit — storage batteries for 

LIGHTS — ^DOUBLE HULL ABOVE WATER — SUBMARINE BELL — 
REGULATION OP TRAFFIC 

WITH the sacrifice of another thousand human lives 
in the sinking of the Empress of Ireland the world 
has received one more tragic lesson in solving the 
problem of achieving safety at sea. Drastic rules governing 
navigation in narrow, much-frequented passages in times of 
fog are expected to result. Perhaps, as George Uhler, super- 
vising inspector general in the service of the United States, 
said, 'Hhere is only one safe way for vessels to navigate a 
fog, and that is to stop until the weather clears." 

RESULT OF TITANIC DISASTER 

The foundering of the Titanic in 1912 eclipsed all previous 
disasters and led to much searching of heart as to the means 
of providing better security at sea. Inquiries were conducted 
in New York under Senator W. A. Smith of Michigan, and 
in London under Lord Mersey sitting as Wreck Commissioner 

(307) 



308 SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 

with five experts as assessors. In both cases recommenda- 
tions were made that liners should have boats for all, regular 
boat drill, more efficient wireless telegraphy arrangements, 
and improved sub-division in construction. Lord Mersey's 
report showed that six out of fifteen of the main compart- 
ments of the vessel were damaged, that the ship filled and 
went gradually down by the head without capsizing, and 
recommended improvements as mentioned and supervision of 
ship designs. The recommendations of improvements were 
generally endorsed by the Merchant Shipping Advisory Com- 
mittee of the Board of Trade, who did not however concur 
in the matter of supervising ship designs. The Board of 
Trade appointed two committees, — one (Bulkheads), with 
Dr. Denny of Dumbarton as chairman, to consider the best 
means of improving the sub-division of new ships, the second 
(Boats and Davits), with Professor Biles as chairman, to 
consider questions relating to design and handling of boats, 
supply of motor boats, etc. The Board of Trade also laid 
draft rules before Parliament requiring (1) great increases in 
the number and capacity of boats to be carried by all classes 
of passenger vessels, and (2) the submission of the designs of 
new ships for examination of stability, proposed sub-division, 
etc.; and the Board also took steps to secure international 
agreement as to wireless telegraphy and all questions affect- 
ing safety at sea. The draft rules went considerably beyond 
the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, and met 
with very serious opposition from many quarters, but many 
steamship companies proceeded even before official action 



SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 309 

was taken to supply boats for all on board their vessels, while 
the White Star Company announced that improved sub- 
division would be built into the '' Britannic," and that the 
''Olympic" would be similarly improved. 

LONDON CONFERENCE ON SAFETY AT SEA 

As a later result of the Titanic disaster a conference of 
maritime nations was called in London and a safety-at-sea 
treaty drawn up. The question of submarine signals between 
vessels, such as might have prevented the latter catastrophe, 
was discussed in the conference; but the treaty adopted does 
not require the equipment of ships with these devices. 

An important decision of this conference was that a con- 
tinuous watch should be kept by all vessels of over thirteen 
knots speed carrying more than two hundred passengers and 
making voyages of more than five hundred miles between two 
ports, and by all other passenger ships when more than five 
hundred miles from land, and by all cargo boats on voyages 
that lead them more than a thousand miles from land. 

When everything possible has been done to prevent acci- 
dents, it remains to reduce to a minimum the life and property 
loss attendant on such accidents as will happen even to the 
best of ships and navigators. There are three important 
items to be considered in this regard: first, means of calling 
help from shore or from other vessels; second, devices for 
escaping safely from a sinking vessel; and, third, means of 
so constructing a vessel that it will not sink no matter how 
hard hit. 



310 SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 

EACH TKAGEDY HAS ITS LESSON 

From each appalling tragedy of the sea we laboriously spell 
out some lessons which are to teach us how to escape these 
strokes of fate for the future. Then comes another tragedy, 
and shows us the futility of these dearly-bought lessons. 
From the Titanic, we deduced that what is needed is a 
plentiful supply of life-boats and life-rafts. Given enough of 
these to easily carry all the passengers and crew, and so terrible 
a disaster as that which engulfed this peerless ship would, we 
believed, become impossible. Then came the tragedy of the 
burning Volturno, and practically all those who were 
"fortunate" enough to get into the |life-boats were drowned, 
and all who stayed with the burning ship were saved. 

Thus was the chief lesson drawn from the Titanic shown 
within a year to be very much less — ^for all its value — ^than a 
certain security against wholesale death at sea. And now we 
have the frightful case of the Empress of Ireland to em- 
phasize this point. The Empress had life-boats; but so 
swiftly fell the shattering stroke — ^they could not be launched. 
The accident occurred in a quiet river, where, had there been 
time enough, these life-boats could have saved every man, 
woman and child on board in the most orderly fashion. In a 
word, the life-boat ''cure" would have been perfect had the 
conditions of the Titanic disaster obtained. 

LIFE-BELT DRILL 

Now the cry is ''life-belts," and a universal knowledge of 
how to use them. We are told that very few of the bodies 



SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 311 

recovered from the Empress were encircled with Ufe-belts. 
Very probably if all the passengers who could get to the decks, 
and so were not carried down in their cabins, had worn life- 
belts, most of them would have remained afloat in the water 
until rescued. But possibly they never thought of life-belts; 
and it is a fair conjecture that many would not have known 
how to put them on if they had thought of them. Most pas- 
sengers take the whole voyage on a ''liner" without once 
studying out how best to attach to themselves the life-belts 
which hang ready for them in their cabins. 

A life-belt drill would be an excellent thing for the first 
day out. The passengers would find it entertaining, and 
they could each in this way learn that the particular life-belt 
which belonged to him, was in order, and what to do with it 
if an alarm came. A little instruction of this sort, and every 
passenger — at a midnight outcry — ^would be more anxious to 
get on his life-belt than his clothes before he rushed up on 
deck to see what was the matter. If a life-boat drill is neces- 
sary for the crew, a life-belt drill is necessary for the passengers. 

MR. NIXON SUGGESTS REMEDY 

This is only one of many suggestions arising out of the 
Empress of Ireland disaster. Mr. Lewis Nixon, the ship- 
builder, believes that hundreds of lives might be spared in 
sea disasters with an efficient life-saving suit that would keep 
persons warm when in the water. He said it was perfectly 
possible to have a life-saving suit that would be comfortable 
for many hours in the coldest water. 



312 SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 

Mr. Nixon declared that to jump from a deck high above 
the water filled most persons with terror, and he mapped out 
a safety slide which could be shot out from the deck of a vessel 
in a few minutes. Moreover, Mr. Nixon asserted that a light 
ray that will penetrate a fog must be worked upon by scientists, 
and he added that he had expected to see before this a direc- 
tion indicator. 

GIANT RAFTS 

The shipbuilder asserted that he still thinks that vessels 
will be built with the upper after structure constructed after 
the fashion of a giant raft. He said that from what he had 
read there seemed to have been ample warning in the instance 
of the latest disaster to have prevented the crash if proper 
precaution had been taken. 

''With every loss of a vessel we look for lessons, find them 
each time, and then ignore them," said Mr. Nixon. "The 
Titanic had one weak spot, the edge of a berg struck the vessel 
exactly there, a combination against which the odds were 
almost infinite. This lesson, it is true, was heeded, and later 
vessels will have double bottoms to above the water line. 

"But the slowness with which she sank misled in other 
directions. It is true more boats are now carried because the 
passenger is entitled to his chance, even if the combination of 
slow sinking and calm is not in the doctrine of probabilities 
likely to occur frequently. But more boats if they cannot be 
launched are an aggravation in a heavy sea and on a vessel 
with a heavy list. 




SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 313 

LIFE-SAVING SUIT 

It's true we do not build vessels to collide with one another, 
yet we have had many collisions of late. We build to avoid fire, 
yet fire still stands out, to my mind, as the great peril at sea. 

"But let us read our lesson from recent wrecks. In all many 
have been lost who might have been saved with an efficient 
life-saving suit. 

'^It is not only necessary to have the man in the water kept 
afloat until relief comes. We all know of the grewsome sight 
of numerous corpses floating on the ocean, dead from expo- 
sure, after the loss of the Titanic. It is perfectly possible to 
don a life-saving suit that one can be comfortable in for many 
hours in an icy sea. 

"It may be said that such a device is too bulky to be carried 
and that it will not often be used. Yet if such devices had 
been available the greater part of the passengers of the Titanic 
and the Empress of Ireland would now be alive. 

"Boats are being improved all the time, and all will soon 
have power. 

"Have you ever noticed a lot of people coming out of a 
theater where there were plenty of exits? Can you imagine 
what it would be to take them down in a number elevators, 
even if the number of elevators were ample, in time of panic? 

MORE INDIVIDUALISM IN SAVING 

"Then think of a vessel, pitching and tossing, with passen- 
gers in terror, unused to ship passageways and stairways, and 
expect them to be embarked in orderly fashion in a short time. 



314 SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 

More and more is it impressed upon me that there should be 
more individualism in life saving. 

; "Recent happenings have shown that relief can usually be 
had as a result of calling by wireless. 

"So the passenger, even though thrown or landed in the sea, 
could be buoyed up by the hope of ultimate relief if he felt 
reasonably safe from death by drowning or exposure during 
the time taken by the relief ship to come. So I think we 
must adopt a life suit which will keep one warm as well as 
afloat. There should be exhibitions daily on deck, where 
passengers should be shown how to don such suits, and those 
who had never done so should be required to don them. 

CHUTES DOWN SHIP's SIDES 

j "Since, under certain conditions, which have been of fre- 
quent occurrence of late,' safety lies in getting afloat, there 
should be regular chutes down which one could slide and be 
delivered clear of the vessel. When one thinks of jumping 
from the deck of a vessel as high as a house the terror of con- 
templation results in demoralization just at a moment when 
the keenest wit is needed. Of course, this does not argue that 
we must not have the best boat and boat-lowering equip- 
ment possible. 

"The safe transfer of all passengers into the life-boats is, 
of course, the most desirable outcome, but, as we see, this is 
not always possible. 

"A side-wiping blow delivered by such a vessel as the Stor- 
stad would sink almost any vessel, though I am inclined to 



SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 315 

think that the heavy scantlings of large vessels like the Lusi- 
tania, the Imperator, or the Vaterland, would break off the 
stem of a vessel so much smaller and so localize the damage. 

" Our aim must be of course to keep them apart. Years ago 
I endeavored to have experiments made with various kinds of 
light rays with a view to fixing the courses of Staten Island 
ferry boats in fogs. 

"There may be found if not a light ray a dark one that will 
penetrate fog and, while we have no light-ray transformers 
like current transformers, if they do penetrate, their presence 
can in some way be made manifest. 

" I have expected before this to see some direction indicator, 
to the end of which I called attention when the Titanic sank. 
But in this last accident there seems to have been ample 
warning of approach and enough knowledge of location to 
have prevented disaster, were proper precaution taken. 

STORAGE BATTERIES FOR LIGHTS 

"Of course we must hear both sides, but personally I am 
far more disposed to lay blame when two vessels collide than 
when one collides with a berg or a derelict. In a channel 
where sea room is limited and currents due to enormous tidal 
rise exist, more than the usual care at sea should be exercised. 

"There should be on all passenger vessels storage batteries 
that would light up enough lights in passageways and about the 
decks to enable passengers to move freely and special colored 
lights, weU understood, to show the means of reaching the 
upper deck. 



316 SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 

"These are the lessons. They have all been known all the 
time, but heeding them can only be arrived at through crush- 
ing disaster that will hold the attention of travelers by sea 
long enough for them to show their appreciation of the lines 
which best safeguard life at sea. 

'^ After all, the transatlantic lines will provide such safety 
as modern ingenuity may evolve, and they will install devices 
in deference to demands of the traveling public. The diffi- 
culty is that the greater part of such public are fatalists when 
they go to sea." 

DOUBLE HULL ABOVE WATER 

Alexander MacGregor, engineer commander, retired, Royal 
Naval Reserves, who lives in Inverness, Scotland, after a 
lifetime on the seas of all the world, declared that such an 
accident as befell the Empress of Ireland spells certain and 
quick destruction to any steamship of the prevailing type 
now engaged in passenger as well as cargo traffic. 

"Double hulls extending well above the water line are the 
only safeguard for the ship, and individual unsinkable gar- 
ments for the passengers their only certain protection," Mr. 
MacGregor said. " I knew the Empress of Ireland. She was 
of the same construction type as the Titanic. She, and prac- 
tically every other, except four of the largest passenger steam- 
ships out of New York, has only a double shell far below the 
water line, a protection only from damage about the keel. 
It cost more than $1,000,000 to reconstruct with a double hull 
one of the biggest transatlantic service steamships after the 



SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 317 

Titanic went down. The expense and great reduction of 
cargo capacity have been a bar to general adoption of that 
type. 

"Under the rules of the sea, the Empress of Ireland appears 
to have been properly at a standstill and the coUier steaming 
on in the dense fog against the rule. If the Empress had a 
double huU it would have been practically impossible for the 
other to have torn out both her shells, which usually are built 
four feet apart, and opened up aU the bulkheads. 

'^ Passenger vessels navigating narrow waters like the St. 
Lawrence should have life-saving apparel close at hand for 
passengers. Boats are of no use if you can't get to them. 
Few men could last long in the icy waters of the St. Lawrence 
at this season." 

Mr. MacGregor for eighteen years was marine superintend- 
ent of the Dominion Atlantic Railway, whose steamships 
plied between New York, Boston and Nova Scotia. He re- 
tired a few years ago. 

SUBMARINE BELL 

Another opinion is that the use of the submarine bell would 
have prevented the collision of the Storstad and the Empress 
of Ireland. The bell is in use on lightships, but sea-going ves- 
sels use only the receivers, and the utility of the warnings 
by sound under water between approaching vessels is not 
appreciated. Many think that publication of the facts would 
aid in making the use of the apparatus compulsory, and 
point to the time when those who could spread the knowledge 



318 SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA 

of the useful wireless system hesitated to "do anything that 
would advertise a patented article." The report of the Ameri- 
can Commissioners to the International Conference on Safety 
of Life at Sea, touching on submarine bells, says: 

"While the American delegation was convinced of the value 
of submarine bells, it did not press their compulsory use, as this 
bell is patented and sold only by one company. In the official 
recommendations (No. 5) the use of this bell is recommended 
by lightships on important outside stations where fog is fre- 
quent. Congress has appropriated money for this purpose 
in the United States." 

The question has been raised by Mr. William Spiegel, whose 
patent on the submarine bell was granted in 1888, whether the 
fundamental invention is longer protected by the patent laws. 
His patent was bought up about five months before its expira- 
tion in 1905. But whether or not subsequent and patentable 
improvements have been made, if the beU will prevent col- 
lisions in fog it should be used, and, if necessary, its use should 
be made compulsory. 

REGULATION OF TRAFFIC 

It is probable that the wider investigaton of the disaster 
win deal with traffic regulations or their absence which made 
the collision between the Empress and the Storstad possible. 
There are no regulations separating the paths of eastbound 
and westbound steamers in the St. Lawrence, although at the 
point where this collision occurred the river is nearly thirty 
miles wide and the depth of water ample for the whole distance 



SEEKING SAFETY AT SEA *351 

across. The Empress of Ireland had gone out from Father 
Point and was proceeding down the river at a distance of 
three miles from shore, which is apparently the custom. The 
Storstad; with her 11,000 tons of coal, was steaming westward 
at about the same distance from shore, and this, too, seems to 
have been the custom. Cargo-carrying tramp steamers have 
equal rights with passenger ships in the St. Lawrence, and the 
path along the south shore off Father Point and Rimouski 
seems to be common to both classes of traffic both eastbound 
and westbound. It is not so long since the Empress of Britain, 
sister ship to the lost Empress of Ireland, ran into the collier 
Helvetia, but in that case the collier came off second best. 
Obviously, we must have more painstaking rules for the navi- 
gation of the Guff and River. 



*The 32 pages of illustrations contained in this book are not included in the 
paging. Adding these 32 pages to the 319 pages of text makes a total of 351 pages. 



